Emerging problems in drug and alcohol use: Current Problems & Future Solutions
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre’s Annual Symposium will once again focus on one of the biggest challenges facing the alcohol and other drug sector: integrating research evidence into public policy and clinical practice.
Senior NDARC researchers will present their findings at the University of NSW on Tuesday 15 September 2015 in an exciting and issue rich program which focuses on current and emerging problems such as ice use in Australia and the dark web market place, as well as heroin treatment and alcohol use patterns and harms.
This year’s guest keynote speaker is US drug and crime researcher Angela Hawken, Associate Professor of Economics and Policy Analysis at the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University in California A/Prof Hawken will speak about opportunities for intervention for methamphetamine within the criminal justice system drawing on her research into a probation based intervention "Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement” (HOPE), which has since been implemented in 11 US States. The program involves random drug testing of probationers who have been repeatedly violating the terms of their probation as a result of their drug use, with ice being the main drug of concern.
Following the keynote address the first session of the Symposium will focus on current trends and new interventions for ice use in Australia, with presentations by NDARC Director Prof Michael Farrell, Dr Nadine Ezard, Clinical Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service, St Vincent’s Hospital, and Dr Julia Lappin, Senior Lecturer at NDARC and the Department of Psychiatry at UNSW.
In session two, researchers will examine alcohol use patterns and harms from pregnancy to adolescence. Dr Delyse Hutchinson will present findings of the Triple B cohort study on alcohol use during pregnancy and developmental outcomes in infants at 12-months of age. A/Prof Tim Slade will examine the impact of social networks on alcohol use and attitudes among adolescents. Prof Maree Teesson will present a randomised controlled trial of an online GP-facilitated web-based intervention for reducing risky alcohol consumption.
After lunch, session three looks at economic evaluations of heroin treatments. Dr Marian Shanahan will speak about lifetime costs and benefits of heroin treatment and Thu Vuong will present her PhD work comparing centre-based compulsory drug rehabilitation with community-based methadone in Vietnam.
In the afternoon, five concurrent one-hour breakout sessions will enable participants to dive deeper into a topic of their interest. The breakout sessions cover a wide range of topics including pharmaceutical opioids; mental health, substance use and young people; the ‘dark web’ and new psychoactive substances; suicide risk assessment and management in D&A services; and a workshop about very brief interventions for cannabis use.
The day will include 40 posters featuring latest NDARC research; our popular five minute poster presentations, which this year focus on interventions for disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and communities. There will be a chance to vote for your favourite poster in this year’s inaugural People’s Choice Awards.
The Symposium will close with a panel discussion on ice.
Registration opens on Tuesday 2 June 2015.
For more information visit: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/2015-ndarc-annual-research-symposium