In late May, SSAC team members Dr Adrian Farrugia and Professor Suzanne Fraser hosted and convened the first NDRI masterclass for 2018. Entitled ‘Designing research for competitive grant schemes’, the masterclass focussed on the skill of grant writing for competitive grants in Australia. As the prospect of applying for grants can be daunting for PhD…
In 2017 SSAC began work on a research project exploring the health information needs of men who inject performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs). As part of the project, the team will produce a web portal. Currently in development, SSAC’s PIEDs portal has two aims: to offer a dedicated publicly accessible research resource presenting project findings, other…
Consumption of performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) is increasing in Australia and elsewhere, raising questions about health knowledge and needs for those involved. The SSAC team is currently conducting research on the meanings and practices associated with the injecting of PIEDs by men in Australia, and preferred ways of accessing information and advice is…
PhD Scholarship: Call for expressions of interest The National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) at Curtin University invites expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates for a PhD scholarship. Based within the SSAC program, the scholarship will be awarded to support a qualitative project focusing on, but not limited to, the following issues: Drugs and…
Recruitment and interviewing for SSAC’s ARC-funded research on uptake and diffusion of take-home naloxone in Victoria and New South Wales are almost complete. After a successful recruitment period in Victoria, the SSAC team begun recruiting in NSW towards the end of 2017. The interviews with people who consume opioids and health professionals working in relevant…
In concert with the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS, La Trobe University), SSAC will convene a symposium on performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) in Melbourne on February 16, 2018. Prof. Suzanne Fraser, Assoc Prof. Kate Seear and Dr Aaron Hart will all contribute to the day’s proceedings. Our anticipated audiences include: needle and…
In 2013 SSAC program leader Professor Suzanne Fraser began a program of research funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship. Initially focused on concepts of addiction in Australian and Canadian policy making and service provision, the program quickly grew to include a Swedish arm, and expanded, with the aid of additional funding support…
The SSAC research project Understanding performance and image-enhancing drug (PIED) injecting to improve health and minimise hepatitis C transmission is now shifting focus in its recruiting of research participants. So far, researchers working on the study have interviewed 17 PIED consuming men in Victoria. These men have been recruited from metropolitan needle and syringe programs, online forums and…
SSAC team members Dr Kate Seear and Professor Suzanne Fraser were recently invited to present their research findings to a major review of crime compensation laws currently being undertaken by the Victorian Law Reform Commission. The Commission is conducting a comprehensive review into Victoria’s Victims of Crime Assistance Act, which is the state’s major legislative mechanism…
Many thanks to those who have volunteered to be interviewed for SSAC’s project on ‘take-home’ naloxone in Australia. We have now begun conducting interviews with people who consume opioids in Sydney. Interviews will be conducted by research officer, Dr Jeanne Ellard. If you are interested in taking part the study, please contact research associate Adrian…
