Quantifying pharmaceutical misuse and harms among older adults

There is global concern regarding escalating pharmaceutical misuse among older adults. Negative impacts on global health burden and healthcare utilisation may be exacerbated by the complex healthcare needs of the growing ageing population. Currently, the extent and drivers of pharmaceutical misuse among older adults and related harms, and their comorbidity with other drug and alcohol problems, are unknown. The candidate will undertake a range of studies using data from population-based sources and linked cohorts [e.g. Data-Linkage Alcohol Cohort Study (~200,00 people) and Opioid Agonist Treatment Safety Study (~50,000 people)] to generate robust evidence addressing these gaps to inform appropriate responses.

Primary supervisor: Dr Natasa Gisev
Joint supervisor: Professor Michael Farrell
Secondary supervisor: Dr Amy Peacock

Candidate requirements:

• Masters or Honours in public health, epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, biostatistics or a related field
• Strong skills in quantitative analysis, with experience using linked administrative data highly regarded
• 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 Dr Natasa Gisev (n.gisev@unsw.edu.au).