Assessing the impact of drug checking (‘pill-testing’) services in Australia and internationally

There is increasing public support for provision of drug checking (‘pill-testing’) services, and some progress in the planning and establishment of such services in Australia. Despite a range of drug checking services operating globally, there is a need for further evidence of the feasibility and effectiveness of different drug checking models in the Australian context. The supervisory team are involved in the evaluation of the first fixed-site drug checking service in Australia. Through this PhD, the candidate will work with the team to gather new evidence and inform policy through a range of possible projects, including:

• systematic reviews of evidence around engagement in drug checking by people who use drugs
• analysing data from interviews and surveys with people accessing drug checking services
• analysing data from interviews and surveys with people who use drugs around their drug checking and broader harm reduction practices 
• analysing other novel data sources (e.g., social and news media data) on drug checking 

Primary supervisor: Dr Amy Peacock
Co-supervisors: Anna Olsen (ANU), Raimondo Bruno (UTAS)

Candidate requirements:

• Masters or Honours in psychology, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, or a related field.
• Strong skills in quantitative or qualitative data analysis.
• Track record of publication of peer-reviewed scientific articles.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

How to Apply

For more information about this project please contact Amy Peacock (amy.peacock@unsw.edu.au)