Qualitative data from 100 in-depth Interviews with 106 adults (including 6 couples) bereaved following a drug or alcohol-related death. The research is being led by researchers in the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath who have experience in conducting research on bereavement. Other members of the research team are based at the University of Stirling and have experience in addiction studies. A bereaved family member will also be part of the research team. The study aims to make a significant contribution to the bereavement and substance misuse literature, raise awareness of issues faced by those suffering this type of loss and inform evidence-based practice guidelines.This two phase qualitative study aims to provide new understanding of the experiences of individuals bereaved through substance misuse and to identify their support needs in order to inform service design and delivery. The first phase of the research will involve in-depth interviews with bereaved family members in England and Scotland. The second phase will engage groups of bereavement and substance misuse professionals, practitioners and service users in developing, testing and validating new practice guidelines. These guidelines will inform and assist support services’ staff in more adequately addressing the needs of this group of bereaved people.

Interviewees were recruited via local and national services, including drug and alcohol treatment services, generic bereavement services, and the few services in each study area offering specific support for substance use bereavement. Initial recruitment relied upon participant self-selection and convenience sampling. Once interviewing was underway, snowball and, later, purposive sampling were used to increase diversity, for example, including bereaved individuals who were themselves in treatment for or recovery from substance use. The resulting sample of 106 (including 6 couples) was diverse in age, relationship to the deceased, time since death and personal experience of substance use,Interviews were audio recorded and fully transcribed. A coding frame of the key areas covered in the interviews was developed to guide a detailed thematic analysis, aided by NVivo, version 10 (see topic guide).