Awareness of, and responses to, drug alerts about higher-risk substances

Due to the unregulated nature of the illicit drug market, people are often unaware of substance contents. Some public health agencies and other organisations disseminate ‘drug alerts’ (i.e., communication about significant unique or pervasive health risks of a specific substance; see example here) to increase awareness of risk of harm and promote harm reduction behaviour. However, there is a distinct lack of research regarding people who use drugs and their preferences for communication of these alerts, as well as the potential intended and unintended behavioural responses to alerts. Research undertaken as part of this PhD could include: reviewing existing evidence regarding responses to risk communication about harms of illicit drugs; assessing awareness of, and responses to, drug alerts disseminated by public health agencies; and gathering information from people who disseminate drug alerts and from people who use drugs to inform design of future alerts.    

Primary supervisor: Dr Amy Peacock

Candidate Requirements

• Masters or Honours in psychology, public health, epidemiology, or a related field
• Strong skills in quantitative 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). Note this PhD could commence from Term 2 (i.e., May) onwards.