{"id":21,"date":"2026-10-16T14:56:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T13:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/?page_id=21"},"modified":"2026-10-17T09:47:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T08:47:27","slug":"pdmh-an-interdisciplinary-global-study","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/","title":{"rendered":"PDMH: An Interdisciplinary Global Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prisons, Drugs and Mental Health: an interdisciplinary global study <\/em>is led by Professor Clare Anderson, 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of History at the University of Birmingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building on the team\u2019s previous collaborations, researchers will work on experiences of drugs cultures, mental health and incarceration in Guyana, the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Mauritius and Seychelles. A programme network will conduct related research on other British and European colonial and post-colonial contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combining work in historical archives with interviews, focus groups, surveys and creative outputs such as poetry, art and music, researchers will offer much-needed insights into experiences of drugs and mental health among prisoners, prison officers and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the course of the programme we will build a global team that will transform understandings of drugs, addiction and mental health, among prison communities, in colonial and post-colonial settings. Inspire and catalyse global research communities that can integrate diverse perspectives \u2013 and work towards breaking the cycles that leave people and communities behind. Create \u2018useable pasts\u2019 of drugs as social rather than individual determinants of mental health and explore their global impacts now using decolonizing and culturally affirming methodologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Anderson will be working with Birmingham co-investigator Dr Kellie Moss, Senior Research Associate in History; and Leicester co-investigators Dr Tammy Ayres, Associate Professor of Criminology; and Dr Lucy Evans, Associate Professor in Postcolonial Literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University\u2019s international co-investigators are Dr Mellissa Ifill, Senior Lecturer, Department of History at the University of Guyana; Dr Janeille Zorina Matthews, Deputy Dean (Graduate Studies and Research) at the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill); and Dr Vijaya Teelock, Director and Founder of the Mauritian NGO Le Chantier. Collaborators are drawn from prison services and universities in the UK and overseas, and a wide range of NGOs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prisons, Drugs and Mental Health: an interdisciplinary global study <\/em>has been funded by a Wellcome Discovery Award. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prisons, Drugs and Mental Health: an interdisciplinary global study is led by Professor Clare Anderson, 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of History at the University of Birmingham. Building on the team\u2019s previous collaborations, researchers will work on experiences of drugs cultures, mental health and incarceration in Guyana, the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and … Continue reading PDMH: An Interdisciplinary Global Study<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103,"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions\/103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellcomepdmh.bham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}