A number of new Drug Trends resources are available online now:
Victorian Drug Trends 2018: Patterns of drug use in the Victorian Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) Interviews
This summary report highlights the key trends from the IDRS interviews conducted in Victoria. Read more.
Self-report and serological HCV status amongst people who inject drugs
People who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk of contracting and transmitting hepatitis C virus (HCV), with an estimated 20% of PWID in Australia having viraemic infection. This bulletin reports on the result of self-reported engagement with testing and treatment for HCV, as well as results of dried blood spot (DBS) testing in 2018. Read more.
Concordance between self-reported hepatitis C virus infection status and dried blood spot result in a cohort of people who inject drugs
This presentation was given by Daisy Gibbs at the Winter School Conference, 25-26 July 2019, Brisbane, Australia. In this presentation Daisy discussed findings from the 2018 Illicit Drug Reporting System with regard to factors associated with self-reported history of HCCV antibody and RNA testing, HCV treatment engagements, and completion, as well as socio-demographics and past six-month drug use and health service utilisation. Read more.
Use of alcohol swabs to clean injecting sites among people who regularly inject drugs in Australia
This presentation was given by Daisy Gibbs at the Winter School Conference, 25-26 July 2019, Brisbane, Australia. In this presentation, Daisy discusses findings from the 2017 Illicit Drug Reporting System with regard to use of alcohol swabs to clean injecting sites prior to injection. Read more.
About Drug Trends
The Drug Trends program at NDARC triangulates data from various sources to identify emerging problems in substance use in Australia.
Drug Trends produces the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS).
Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS)
The IDRS is a national illicit drug monitoring system intended to identify emerging trends of local and national concern in illicit drug markets. The IDRS consists of annual interviews across all Australian jurisdictions with people who inject drugs, as well as analysis and examination of indicator data sources related to illicit drugs.
Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS)
The EDRS is a national monitoring system for ecstasy and related drugs that is intended to identify emerging trends of local and national interest in the markets for these drugs. The EDRS is based on the Illicit Drug Reporting System methodology and consists of interviews with people who regularly use ecstasy and other stimulants, as well as analysis and examination of indicator data sources related to ecstasy and other related drugs.
The IDRS and EDRS are designed to be sensitive to trends, providing data in a timely manner rather than describing issues in extensive detail.