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Use of prescription opioid analgesics in women of reproductive age

Bianca Varney
Date Published:
19 Aug 2021
Contact person:
NDARC.events@unsw.edu.au
Event date: 
Thursday, 19 August 2021 - 3:00pm

This webinar will examine the use of analgesic opioids in Australian women aged 15 to 44 years and implications for unplanned pregnancies.

As around half of all pregnancies are unplanned, opioid use among women of reproductive age may result in exposure in unplanned pregnancies. Understanding prescription opioid use in women of reproductive age is important given that opioid exposure during pregnancy has been linked to adverse perinatal outcomes and congenital malformations in infants.

Using a standardised national pharmaceutical claims dataset, the study presented in this webinar examines the trends in the proportion of women of reproductive age that use and initiate prescription analgesic opioids in Australia between 2013 and 2020. The findings have implications for understanding the likelihood of inadvertent exposure during unplanned pregnancies.

About the speaker

Bianca Varney is a Scientia PhD Scholar from the Centre for Big Data Research in Health, UNSW Sydney. Bianca is currently in her first year of her PhD and her doctoral research focuses on the safety of medicines during pregnancy using big data. Bianca has previously spent several years working as a cell biologist before completing a Master of International Public Health at UNSW. Bianca holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Sydney.

Location: 
This is an online event. You will be emailed the link when you register.
Cost: 
Free
Booking deadline: 
Thursday, 19 August 2021 - 3pm
Contact for inquiries: 
NDARC.events@unsw.edu.au