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THE IMPACT OF EXPERTS BY EXPERIENCE IN THEIR WORK WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSERS AND CONVICTS : A qualitative study to investigate the influence of Experts by Experience on organizations.

Substance abusers and convicts have beneficial knowledge that researchers and service providers could use. Unfortunately, they tend to suffer from the stigma that often comes with exclusion from society and public discussions. Excluding them from discussion means that their knowledge cannot be benefitted from.  The Experts by experience concept gives a voice and expertise to those who have experience of specific experiences and situations. The use of these Experts has been found highly beneficial for many health service providers, and some findings indicate promising results also with a target group of substance abusers and convicts.  This study aims to investigate the impact that the participants of Keijo, an Experts by Experience program in Finland, can bring to their workplaces where they work with substance abusers and convicts. This paper performed seven semi-structured interviews with organizations that have worked with Experts by Experience from the Keijo program.  The analysis of this paper found the use of Experts by Experience in organizations to be considered valuable and beneficial. The findings indicated that the Experts had a positive impact on their clients, which often supported the work of the organizations. Additionally, the importance of Experts was also recognized as an important and valuable source of knowledge for the organizations and their colleagues.  This study will conclude by encouraging further use and research of Experts by Experience with this target group.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-69045
Date January 2024
CreatorsUino, Siiri
PublisherMalmö universitet, Institutionen för kriminologi (KR)
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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