New in our program of research is a project exploring experiences of people who continue to drink heavily while living with significant alcohol-related health problems.
This South Western Sydney Local Health District-funded project will investigate how people who experience health difficulties associated with alcohol consumption give meaning to their consumption, manage health conditions and view, and make decisions about, accessing treatment for alcohol consumption in the South Western Sydney Local Area Health District. It aims to better understand the impediments to accessing healthcare that this group experiences in order to improve access and enhance treatment, health and well-being. The results will be used to add an additional module to the Livesofsubstance.org cluster of alcohol and other drug issues public websites.
SSAC team members Professor Suzanne Fraser and Dr Renae Fomiatti are currently recruiting people in New South Wales who have accessed treatment in South Western Sydney Local Health District and have experienced health difficulties associated with their drinking.
As Suzanne explained,
We’re thrilled to be working with Dr Michael Edwards, the Medical Director of South Western Sydney Drug Health Services, on this really innovative project. We want to know how people experiencing serious health issues related to alcohol give meaning to their drinking, and to use that knowledge to devise new ways of supporting them. This kind of closely analysed qualitative project is uncommon in research on understanding drinking in this group in Australia.
The team is currently recruiting people in New South Wales who have accessed treatment in South Western Sydney Local Health District and have experienced health difficulties associated with their drinking.
Interviews with participants are well underway, with five of the ten interviews now complete. So far, researchers working on the study have interviewed five men recruited from various treatment programs within the South Western Sydney Local Health District. The research team are now concentrating on recruiting more women and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds for the remainder of the Victorian sample (N=10).
The new knowledge developed in this project will be used to add a new dedicated alcohol module to a successful Australian Internet resource on experiences of addiction, dependence or drug habit: Livesofsubstance.org. This new module will also directly inform policy and practice in South West Sydney Local Area Health District, by aiming to better support those experiencing difficulties associated with their alcohol consumption, by improving access to healthcare and improving their health and wellbeing.
Project team
Investigators
Professor Suzanne Fraser, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
Dr Renae Fomiatti, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
Dr Michael Edwards, Drug Health Services, South Western Sydney Local Health District
Ms Stephanie Hocking, Drug Health Services, South Western Sydney Local Health District
Interviewer
Piotr Maron, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
Interviews with participants are well underway, with five of the ten interviews now complete. So far, researchers working on the study have interviewed five men recruited from various treatment programs within the South Western Sydney Local Health District. The research team are now concentrating on recruiting more women and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The new knowledge developed in this project will be used to add a new dedicated alcohol module to a successful Australian online resource on experiences of addiction, dependence or drug habit: Livesofsubstance.org. This new module will also directly inform policy and practice in South West Sydney Local Area Health District, by aiming to better support those experiencing difficulties associated with their alcohol consumption, by improving access to healthcare and improving their health and wellbeing.
Project team
Investigators
Professor Suzanne Fraser, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
Dr Renae Fomiatti, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
Dr Michael Edwards, Drug Health Services, South Western Sydney Local Health District
Ms Stephanie Hocking, Drug Health Services, South Western Sydney Local Health District
Interviewer
Piotr Maron, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
DruGS 