Lived experiences of alcohol consumption and dependence in South West Sydney: An online resource – project completed

Despite decades of research, policymaking and service provision, little is known about how the majority of Australians who experience serious alcohol consumption concerns view their consumption, and make decisions about accessing treatment. This South Western Sydney Local Health District-funded project investigated 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 South Western Sydney Local Area Health District. The new knowledge developed in this project was 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.

Aims

  1. To explore and analyse how people who experience difficulties associated with alcohol consumption understand and give meaning to their consumption;
  2. To identify how service users view, and make decisions about accessing, treatment for alcohol dependence in the South Western Sydney Local Area Health District; and
  3. To explore how people who experience difficulties associated with alcohol consumption manage and respond to other concurrent health conditions.

The project investigator team comprised:

  • Professor Suzanne Fraser (ARCSHS, La Trobe University
  • Dr Renae Fomiatti,
  • Dr Michael Edwards, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales
  • Ms Stephanie Hocking, Drug Health Services, South Western Sydney Local Health District

Research staff

  • Piotr Maron, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University

Publications

Fomiatti, R., Savic, M., Fraser, S., Edwards, M., & Farrugia, A. (2020). Heavy drinking as phenomenon: gender and agency in accounts of men’s heavy drinking. Health Sociology Review, 1-16.