The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
Australian Longitudinal Study Of Heroin Dependence: A 11 Year Prospective Cohort Study Of Mortality, Abstinence, Criminality And Psychiatric Comorbidity Among Heroin Users
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,295.00
Summary
To conduct the longest and most comprehensive prospective follow-up of Australian heroin users. A 11 year follow-up presents the unique opportunity to examine: Mortality rates, remission rates, criminal histories and levels of psychopathology ; Predictive factors of long term remission, mortality, criminality and the health service utilisation associated with heroin use careers.
Mortality Among Opioid Dependent Persons In Pharmacotherapy, NSW 1985-2006
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$148,757.00
Summary
Heroin dependence is a long term condition associated with high rates of death, illness and injury. Death rates are much higher than the general Australian population and the causes of death include drug intoxication or overdose, trauma, suicide, complications from blood born viruses such as Hepatitis C and HIV-AIDS and other medical complications of a chaotic drug-using lifestyle. As a part of a harm minimisation approach to heroin dependence, maintenance opioid pharmacotherapies seek to stabil ....Heroin dependence is a long term condition associated with high rates of death, illness and injury. Death rates are much higher than the general Australian population and the causes of death include drug intoxication or overdose, trauma, suicide, complications from blood born viruses such as Hepatitis C and HIV-AIDS and other medical complications of a chaotic drug-using lifestyle. As a part of a harm minimisation approach to heroin dependence, maintenance opioid pharmacotherapies seek to stabilise a chaotic heroin-using lifestyle by providing a regular dose of a legal, high quality opioid under medical supervision. Maintenance treatment uses long-acting opioids such as methadone and buprenorphine to provide consistent blood opioid levels so the client avoids the constant and disruptive cycles of opioid intoxication and withdrawal. Clients in regular maintenance treatments have lower death rates than untreated heroin dependent people and better outcomes with regards to drug use. However, death still occurs in methadone and buprenorphine treatment and minimising death rates is an important goal of treatment programs. This is a large longitudinal study looking at all NSW methadone and buprenorphine clients between 1985 and 2006, an estimated 44,000 people. In particular, the study looks at their mortality. It is a data linkage project, in that it uses two existing databases (a treatment database and a mortality database) and combines the information for each subject to get a better picture of how long methadone and buprenorphine clients survive, how much maintenance treatment they have received, and what the clients die of. This is the first time the mortality of all NSW methadone and buprenorphine recipients will be examined in a systematic way. It will allow us to compare the mortality of subjects receiving methadone and buprenorphine treatments and look at changes in mortality rates and causes of death over time. This will be an important policy resource.Read moreRead less
A Investigation Of The Public Health Effects Of Retail Heroin Markets From A Consumer Perspective
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,106.00
Summary
The health problems associated with heroin use within our community are a major public health issue. Within the past decade there has been an increase in heroin-related deaths and evidence of the continuing spread of hepatitis C among individuals who inject heroin. Within this period there have been substantial changes in the heroin market in Australia, with street prices decreasing and purity increasing and we have witnessed the emergence of street markets in a number of major cities. The aim o ....The health problems associated with heroin use within our community are a major public health issue. Within the past decade there has been an increase in heroin-related deaths and evidence of the continuing spread of hepatitis C among individuals who inject heroin. Within this period there have been substantial changes in the heroin market in Australia, with street prices decreasing and purity increasing and we have witnessed the emergence of street markets in a number of major cities. The aim of the proposed research is to improve our understanding of the retail heroin market (that part of the market which is accessed by heroin users) by examining how the consumers (heroin users) use this market. The project will examine the relationship between the heroin market and the health problems associated with heroin use including dependence. The research will be conducted at 6 sites within metropolitan Melbourne which have been chosen on the basis that they have established street markets and high levels of non-fatal and fatal overdose. At each site interviews and surveys will be conducted with injecting drug users and others with knowledge of the local market and detailed observations will be made of street markets in each of these areas. This information will be combined with indicators of purity of heroin seized by police, fatal and non fatal-overdoses, police operations and arrests, and needle-syringe distribution and return. The information gathered in this research will be used to develop an understanding of the retail heroin market as a consumer market place and the impact of the market upon the health status of the individuals who use this market. The knowledge that we gain from this research will provide the foundation for developing more effective approaches to reducing the health problems associated with heroin use and for predicting the impact of changes in the market such as a reduction in price upon these problems.Read moreRead less