Reducing The Burden Of Alcohol And Other Drug Use In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,805.00
Summary
Innovative research undertaken during the Fellowship program will provide new evidence of how best to respond to alcohol and other drug use. Partnerships with policymakers will ensure this evidence underpins Australian alcohol and other drug policy.
Understanding The Methamphetamine Epidemic And Its Implications For Service Provision And Harm Reduction: The VicMeth Cohort
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,270,774.00
Summary
The Victorian methamphetamine epidemic has received extensive media coverage highlighting the devastating impact of the drug and resultant public concern. We will follow up a cohort of 800 methamphetamine smokers from metropolitan and regional Victoria bi-annually for a period of 5 years to determine the natural history of methamphetamine use to inform optimal intervention strategies and arrest the increases in harm observed in Victoria recently.
Public Health Challenges And Opportunities Of Internet Technologies For The Study Of New And Emerging Psychoactive Substance Use And Related Health Harms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$317,929.00
Summary
New psychoactive drugs that mimic the effects of prohibited drugs are increasingly available in Australia, and there is mounting evidence of their harmful health effects. This research examines the challenges and opportunities of internet technologies for understanding trends in new and emerging drug use and harms. Findings will inform the development of more effective public health responses to reduce morbidity and mortality from new psychoactive drugs and other illicit drug use.
Mortality Among Injecting Drugs Users - A Follow-up Study Of Injecting Drug User Cohorts.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$47,500.00
Summary
This study will follow-up injecting drug users that participated in research in the 1990s and 2000s to examine mortality rates in these groups over time. Identifying information from these studies will be cross-referenced with National Death Index data to determine participants that died and the dates of their death. This study will be the first in Australia to determine mortality rates over time in a defined cohort of injecting drug users outside drug treatment settings. Studying a defined grou ....This study will follow-up injecting drug users that participated in research in the 1990s and 2000s to examine mortality rates in these groups over time. Identifying information from these studies will be cross-referenced with National Death Index data to determine participants that died and the dates of their death. This study will be the first in Australia to determine mortality rates over time in a defined cohort of injecting drug users outside drug treatment settings. Studying a defined group overcomes some of the problems associated with mortality rate estimates based simply on the number of injecting drug-related deaths. Although the number of deaths can be found, the number of people at risk of injecting drug-related death is unclear because of the hidden nature of drug use and the dynamic characteristics of drug use and drug markets. The examination of mortality trends among injecting drug users over time can provide insights regarding changes in drug use patterns and markets. For example, this study will examine changes in injecting drug use mortality across periods of high heroin availability in the late '90s and periods of interrupted heroin supply - the heroin 'drought' - from 2000 onwards. In addition, factors related to injecting drug-related mortality can be explored by comparing the characteristics of injecting drug users that died and those that survived, such as drug use and drug treatment histories, co-morbidities such as mental illness and socio-demographic backgrounds. This information can inform overdose prevention and harm reduction strategies by identifying individuals most at risk of injecting drug-related mortality. This study will also draw attention to the significant public health burden of injecting drug use. In addition, by comparing the results from this study with other similar studies from overseas, we can more reliably compare mortality among groups of Australian injecting drug users with their peers in other countries.Read moreRead less
Determining Patterns Of Cessation And Relapse In A Cohort Of People Who Inject Drugs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,189,791.00
Summary
Harms related to injecting drug use represent the bulk of the burden attributable to illicit drugs in Australia. In this study we will determine rates of long term cessation of injecting drug use, and relapse, and key drivers of these outcomes such as drug treatment or housing provision. Findings will inform policy and practice around injecting drug use in Australia over the coming decade.
Improving The Health Of People With Problematic Drug Use: Hepatitis C And Drug Dependence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$9,060,140.00
Summary
Problematic drug use is the major risk factor to health among Australians aged 15-49 years. The dual harms of drug dependence and hepatitis C virus (HCV) faced by people who use drugs compel improved drug dependence management and HCV prevention and treatment. This Program Grant will improve the lives of people with problematic drug use by investigating health impacts of drug use and evaluating new strategies for managing drug dependence and eliminating HCV among people who use drugs.
Investigating The Relationships Between Cannabis And Other Drug Use, Mental Health, Early-life Factors And Life-course Outcomes: Integrative Analyses Of Data From Four Australasian Cohort Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$292,097.00
Summary
The current study will be the first of its kind to use integrative data analyses _ a highly innovative approach _ to pool data from four large and long-running Australasian cohort studies to better understand the link between cannabis use and later-life outcomes. Dramatically improved knowledge of these relationships will create a clearer picture of the interventions required to reduce the harms associated with cannabis use.
Injecting Drug Use, Incarceration, Infection: Investigating Opportunities For Public Health Interventions In Disadvantaged Populations
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,564.00
Summary
New knowledge required to address infectious diseases and mental illness among two disadvantaged and overlapping groups -people who inject drugs (PWID) and prisoners – will be produced: Cross sectional and longitudinal studies will examine HIV risk in specific populations; A system to track the emergence of injecting will be developed; The global scale of mental illness and TB among PWID will be determined; and how to improve coverage and delivery of TB prevention and treatment will be explored.
Reducing The Health, Social And Economic Burden Of Injecting Drug Use In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,606,037.00
Summary
Injecting drug use (IDU) is a disproportionately large source of health and social harm. This CRE unites Australia’s leading scientists in the IDU field – researchers working on blood-borne virus epidemiology and treatment, overdose prevention, justice health and psychiatric health - and experts from key non-government organisations. The CRE will develop new ways to improve the health of injecting drug users, and reduce the health and social burden of IDU to the Australian community.