Research: Engaging people with lived experience of substance use

Research summary

Our Substance Use and Associated Behaviours (SUAB) research group leads on studies that inspire change in policy and practice through local, national and international collaboration.

We seek to effectively engage with individuals and communities who use substances, or who are affected by other people’s substance use. This helps us capture a range of voices – some rarely heard – to help build a detailed picture of substance use in the 21st century.

We try to involve people with lived experience in all stages of the research process, from study design to dissemination. Our belief is that people with such experience have a great deal to teach us and we have a great deal to learn from them.

Developed in collaboration with Voicebox Inc, our strategy is set out in Involving People with Lived Experience in Research and Knowledge Exchange (PERKE).

Our studies include:

• establishing an advisory group of people with alcohol and other drug problems receiving end-of-life care to understand the challenges they face

• capturing the experiences of a diverse range of people who use drugs by offering various ways to get involved – such as interviews, group discussions, poetry writing and blogs

• speaking to people who use drugs and the professionals working with them to get insights into Greater Manchester’s drug use trends and challenges

• working with the image and performance enhancing drug use communities to deliver an innovative UK-wide research project

• working with a specialist engagement company to ensure people feel comfortable and valued when sharing their experiences to get the truest picture

Through our engagement projects, we aim to inform policy making and support service development locally, nationally and internationally.