About this webinar:

Community action is recognised to be a priority area by global and national strategic documents that aim to prevent or reduce alcohol or other drug (AOD) use or harms. However, these guiding documents do not present a clear picture of what sorts of activities are relevant to community action, nor which activities are supported by research evidence. In this seminar, Dr Peter Gates explores three decades of research on community action and describe what community action is, what evidence there is to support community action, and what is associated with impact. Peter is joined by Mel Ricketts, who shares her experiences with the award-winning North Coast Youth Vaping Taskforce.

About this speaker:

Peter’s current research is focused on the NDARC Workplan areas relating to Prevention and Early Intervention, and Communities and Families. Peter leads a program of research intended to reduce the harms from alcohol and other drugs in rural and remote communities of NSW. This work involves co-design and building upon existing community strengths to bring together community concerns and research evidence. To aid in connecting with existing community-led efforts to reduce harms, Peter has developed relationships with Local and Community Drug Action Teams (LDATs and CDATs), as well as the Mid North Coast local area health districts and NSW Health (Vaping Taskforce). Peter has completed several reviews on the impact of community action on alcohol and other drug use and harms.