Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies.

Aims: To test if polysubstance use profiles and drug-related outcomes differ between those receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies (OST) among people who inject drugs (PWID).

Design: An annual cross-sectional, sentinel sample of PWID across Australia.

Setting: Data came from 3 years (2011-13) of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS).

'A Drink That Makes You Feel Happier, Relaxed and Loving': Young People's Perceptions of Alcohol Advertising on Facebook.

Aims: To explore young people's perceptions of alcohol advertising on Facebook and investigate perceived compliance with the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC).

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey with 172 Australians aged 16-29 years recruited from a market research website and via Facebook. We compiled advertisements from six popular alcohol brands' Australian Facebook pages and asked respondents for their perceptions and interpretations in open and closed-ended questions.

Mortality in the Melbourne injecting drug user cohort study (MIX).

Background: There are few studies of mortality amongst people who inject drugs (PWID) in Australia. In this study, we estimate mortality in a cohort of PWID in Melbourne and examine predictors of mortality including health service use, demographic characteristics, drug use and personal wellbeing.

Findings: We linked identifiers from the Melbourne injecting drug use cohort study (MIX; n = 655) to the National Death Index from 2008 to 2012 to estimate standardised mortality ratios (SMRs).

From initiating injecting drug use to regular injecting: Retrospective survival analysis of injecting progression within a sample of people who inject drugs regularly.

Background: The initiation of injecting drug use and the commencement of a pattern of regular injecting are key milestones in injecting careers. The progression from initiation to regular injecting is a poorly understood period in these careers.

Methods: Cross-sectional baseline data from a sample of people who inject drugs regularly (N=691), recorded the age at which participants initiated injecting drug use and the age they became regular (at least once per month) injectors.

Temporal trends in falls cases seen by EMS in Melbourne: The effect of residence on time of day and day of week patterns.

Background: Injury due to falls is a major public health problem, especially for older people. We aimed to determine the accuracy of the ambulance call taker triage algorithm relative to paramedic assessment, and characterise variation in ambulance service demand for falls cases involving older adults over time and by residence type.

Method: We obtained all ambulance case records for January 2008 to December 2011 for adults aged 65 or over in Melbourne, Australia.

Patterns of, and Factors Associated With, Illicit Pharmaceutical Opioid Analgesic Use in a Prospective Cohort of People Who Inject Drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population engaging in pharmaceutical opioid analgesic (PO) use, yet little is known about patterns of illicit PO use among this group.

Objectives: The aims of this research were to measure the prevalence and frequency of lifetime and past-month illicit PO use and injection in a sample of regular PWID, to examine patterns of past-month illicit PO use within individuals over time, and to identify factors independently associated with past-month illicit PO use.

Methods: Data were drawn from a prospective cohort study of regular PWID (N = 666) in Melbourne, Australia.

Correlates of property crime in a cohort of recently released prisoners with a history of injecting drug use.

Background: Injecting drug use (IDU) is a strong predictor of recidivism and re-incarceration in ex-prisoners. Although the links between drug use and crime are well documented, studies examining post-release criminal activity and re-incarceration risk among ex-prisoners with a history of IDU are limited. We aimed to explore factors associated with property crime among people with a history of IDU recently released from prison.

Heavy alcohol consumption among marginalised African refugee young people in Melbourne, Australia: motivations for drinking, experiences of alcohol-related problems and strategies for managing drinking.

Objective: Little is known about substance use among resettled refugee populations. This study aimed to describe motivations for drinking, experiences of alcohol-related problems and strategies for managing drinking among marginalised African refugee young people in Melbourne, Australia.

Design: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 self-identified African refugees recruited from street-based settings in 2012-2013.

Cessation of injecting drug use: The effects of health service utilisation, drug use and demographic factors.

Background: Injecting drug use is associated with a range of harms, however cessation of injecting is rare. There is a lack of evidence on factors associated with cessation, notably those related to health services other than drug treatment. We examined the incidence and identified longitudinal correlates of first episode of cessation in a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID).

Can differences in the type, nature or amount of polysubstance use explain the increased risk of non-fatal overdose among psychologically distressed people who inject drugs?

Background: This study investigates whether the type, nature or amount of polysubstance use can explain the increased risk of non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs with severe psychological distress.

Methods: Data came from three years (2011-2013) of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS), an annual sentinel sample of injecting drug users across Australia (n=2673). Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used on 14 drug types to construct five latent factors, each representing a type of polysubstance use.

Influences on the drinking of heavier drinkers: Interactional realities in seeking to 'change drinking cultures'.

Introduction And Aims: 'Changing drinking culture' is a prominent goal in the Australian state of Victoria's current alcohol strategy-seeking a shift so that 'excessive drinking isn't seen as the norm'. As a social activity, there is a strong collective aspect to drinking and associated behaviour: customs within the drinking group and at the level of social worlds of drinking operate both to increase and to control drinking patterns and associated behaviours. The paper considers how risky drinkers and those in social worlds of heavy drinking experience others' expectations about drinking.

The Potential Reach of Opioid Substitution Settings to Deliver HCV Care to People Who Inject Drugs in Australia.

Background: Recent efforts in Australia to engage people who inject drugs (PWID) in hepatitis C (HCV) care have focussed on opioid substitution treatment (OST) services as a delivery site. This approach potentially excludes non-opioid using PWID. This study aimed to determine differences between those currently receiving OST and those not among a sample of PWID.

Temporal trends in cardiovascular demand in EMS: Weekday versus weekend differences.

Diagnosed cardiovascular disease has well-reported temporal patterns, with demand distribution peaks in the late morning and greater case numbers on Mondays and in winter. We aimed to report temporal patterns of presumptive cardiovascular disease cases as determined after emergency medical services (EMS) assessment and to characterize the demand distribution by day of the week. We conducted a secondary analysis of all Ambulance Victoria cases in metropolitan Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) between January 2008 and December 2011.

Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior.

Awe is an emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli that transcend current frames of reference. Guided by conceptual analyses of awe as a collective emotion, across 5 studies (N = 2,078) we tested the hypothesis that awe can result in a diminishment of the individual self and its concerns, and increase prosocial behavior. In a representative national sample (Study 1), dispositional tendencies to experience awe predicted greater generosity in an economic game above and beyond other prosocial emotions (e.

The introduction of buprenorphine-naloxone film in opioid substitution therapy in Australia: Uptake and issues arising from changing buprenorphine formulations.

Introduction And Aims: Buprenorphine-naloxone (BNX) film for opioid dependence treatment was introduced in Australia in 2011. A key difference in State policy approaches saw transfer from BNX tablets to BNX film mandated in South Australia (SA) with New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (VIC) having less stringent policies. This study examined (i) how initiations and transfers were implemented, (ii) the profile and predictors of adverse effects as self-reported by BNX film clients, and (iii) dosing issues.

Multiply disadvantaged: Health and service utilisation factors faced by homeless injecting drug consumers in Australia.

Introduction And Aims: Homelessness status is strongly correlated with higher rates of substance use. Few studies, however, examine the complex relationship between housing status and substance use in people who inject drugs (PWID). This study extends previous research by comparing the physical and mental health status and service utilisation rates between stably housed and homeless PWID.

Oral health-related quality of life among an Australian sample of people who inject drugs.

Objectives: People who inject drugs (PWID) have poor oral health. However, their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is unknown. Our study was designed to measure the OHRQoL of PWID.

Time of Day and Day of Week Trends in EMS Demand.

Objective: We examined temporal variations in overall Emergency Medical Services (EMS) demand, as well as medical and trauma cases separately. We analyzed cases according to time of day and day of week to determine whether population level demand demonstrates temporal patterns that will increase baseline knowledge for EMS planning.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Ambulance Victoria data warehouse covering the period 2008-2011.

Mortality and cause of death in a cohort of people who had ever injected drugs in Glasgow: 1982-2012.

Background: To describe all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a cohort of people who had ever injected drugs (PWID) with a low prevalence of HIV over 20-30 years.

Methods: Using a retrospective study design, identifying data from a cohort of PWID recruited between 1982 and 1993 through in-patient drug treatment services were linked to National Records for Scotland deaths data using probabilistic record linkage. We report all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates; standardized mortality ratios (SMR) across time, gender and age were estimated.

Experiences of and attitudes toward injecting drug use among marginalized African migrant and refugee youth in Melbourne, Australia.

Little is known about injecting drug use (IDU) among people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia. We interviewed 18 young people of African ethnicity (6 current/former injectors, 12 never injectors) about exposure and attitudes to IDU. Exposure to IDU was common, with IDU characterized as unnatural, risky and immoral.