Ms Theresa Caruana

Ms Theresa Caruana

Post-Doc Fellow

BA(Hons), MSW, MPH, GradDipPsych

Arts, Design & Architecture (ADA)
Centre for Social Research in Health

Theresa Caruana is a Scientia PhD candidate and Research Assistant at the Centre for Social Research in Health. Her research focuses on experiences of stigma in health settings, and the experiences of people who inject drugs. She has a history of working with populations experiencing disadvantage in a variety of direct practice, education, communication, policy, research, and project coordination roles. Theresa also contributed to publications from the second iteration of the Australian Study of Health and Relationships. 

  • Journal articles | 2024
    Brener L; Cama E; Broady T; Harrod ME; Holly C; Caruana T; Beadman K; Treloar C, 2024, 'Experiences of stigma and subsequent reduced access to health care among women who inject drugs', Drug and Alcohol Review, 43, pp. 1071 - 1079, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13806
    Journal articles | 2024
    Brener L; Caruana T; Cama E; Gilford C; Crawford S; Capell-Hattam T; von Hippel C, 2024, 'Stigma by association among alcohol and other drug and harm reduction workers: Implications for workplace outcomes', Drug and Alcohol Review, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13861
    Journal articles | 2024
    Caruana T; Brener L; Calabrese SK; Cama E; Treloar C; Broady T, 2024, 'Differences in stigma reduction related to injection drug use between people expressing conservative, moderate and progressive values following an online intervention', Drug and Alcohol Review, 43, pp. 853 - 860, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13815
    Journal articles | 2024
    Caruana T, 2024, 'Medication safety, privacy, and stigma: A qualitative study of pharmacy opioid agonist treatment disruptions and adaptations in the 2022 Northern Rivers floods, Australia', International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 101, pp. 104244, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104244
    Journal articles | 2024
    Caruana T, 2024, 'Opioid agonist treatment and trust in the community pharmacy setting: a qualitative study of perceptions and experiences', Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, ahead-of-print, pp. 1 - 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2024.2309982
    Journal articles | 2024
    Caruana T, 2024, 'Quantifying Stigma Effects: The Influence of Stigma and Pharmacist Implicit Attitudes on Opioid Agonist Treatment Consumer Well-Being', Stigma and Health, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sah0000556
    Journal articles | 2024
    Caruana T, 2024, 'Reducing stigma within pharmacy opioid agonist treatment encounters', Stigma and Health, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sah0000552
    Journal articles | 2023
    Broady TR; Brener L; Caruana T; Cama E; Treloar C, 2023, 'Factors associated with sharing equipment among people who inject drugs: The role of community attachment in harm reduction and health promotion', Drug and Alcohol Review, 42, pp. 561 - 568, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13606
    Journal articles | 2023
    Caruana T; Mao L; Gray RM; Bryant J, 2023, 'Engagement and outcomes of marginalised young people in an early intervention youth alcohol and other drug program: The Street Universities model', PLoS ONE, 18, pp. e0286025, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286025
    Journal articles | 2023
    Dertadian GC; Caruana T; Maher L, 2023, 'Injection drug use in an affluent beachside community in Sydney: An exploratory qualitative study', Drug and Alcohol Review, 42, pp. 544 - 554, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13592
    Journal articles | 2023
    Dertadian GC; Caruana T; Maher L, 2023, 'The gendered violence of injecting-related stigma among relatively affluent, suburban women who inject drugs', Drug and Alcohol Review, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13775
    Journal articles | 2023
    Dertadian GC; Caruana T; Maher L, 2023, '‘Grew Up with a Silver Spoon in My Mouth, But it Ended Up the Nose’: The Stigma and Labelling of Injection Drug Use in an Affluent Beachside Community', Critical Criminology, 31, pp. 811 - 825, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10612-023-09710-y
    Journal articles | 2023
    Rance J; Bryant J; Caruana T; Brener L, 2023, 'Practising care in a pandemic: Accounting for everyday life during COVID-19 among people who inject drugs', Sociology of Health and Illness, 45, pp. 791 - 809, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13612
    Journal articles | 2023
    Storer D; Lafferty L; Graham S; Murphy D; Rance J; Brener L; Seale H; Hammoud MA; Prestage G; Beadman M; Gardner K; Blaxland M; Bolt R; Caruana T; Philpot S; Rule J; Bryant J, 2023, 'Perceptions of COVID-19 Vaccines: Lessons from Selected Populations Who Experience Discrimination in the Australian Healthcare System', Health & Social Care in the Community, 2023, pp. 1 - 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/5901128
    Journal articles | 2022
    Brener L; Caruana T; Broady T; Cama E; Ezard N; Madden A; Treloar C, 2022, 'Addressing injecting related risks among people who inject both opioids and stimulants: Findings from an Australian survey of people who inject drugs', Addictive Behaviors Reports, 15, pp. 100398, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2021.100398
    Journal articles | 2022
    Brener L; Horwitz R; Rance J; Caruana T; Bryant J, 2022, 'Health worker perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on harm reduction services for people who inject drugs', Health and Social Care in the Community, 30, pp. 2320 - 2329, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13782
    Journal articles | 2022
    Horwitz R; Brener L; Marshall AD; Caruana T; Newman CE, 2022, 'Optimising community health services in Australia for populations affected by stigmatised infections: What do service users want?', Health and Social Care in the Community, 30, pp. e3686 - e3695, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.14037
    Journal articles | 2022
    Richters J; Carter A; Caruana T; Bateson D; de Visser R; Rissel C; Yeung A; Guy R; McGeechan K, 2022, 'Reproductive experiences and outcomes among a representative sample of women: the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 46, pp. 69 - 74, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13166
    Journal articles | 2022
    Richters J; Yeung A; Rissel C; McGeechan K; Caruana T; de Visser R, 2022, 'Sexual Difficulties, Problems, and Help-Seeking in a National Representative Sample: The Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships', Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, pp. 1435 - 1446, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02244-w
    Journal articles | 2017
    Rissel C; Richters J; de Visser RO; McKee A; Yeung A; Caruana T, 2017, 'A Profile of Pornography Users in Australia: Findings From the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships', Journal of Sex Research, 54, pp. 227 - 240, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1191597
    Journal articles | 2016
    Richters J; Fitzadam S; Yeung A; Caruana T; Rissel C; Simpson JM; de Visser RO, 2016, 'Contraceptive practices among women: the second Australian study of health and relationships', Contraception, 94, pp. 548 - 555, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2016.06.016
  • Conference Posters | 2023
    Caruana T, 2023, 'Measuring opioid agonist treatment stigma and its effects: An exploration of pharmacist attitudes and consumer treatment outcomes', Geneva, Switzerland, presented at The 11th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users, Geneva, Switzerland, 17 October 2023 - 20 October 2023, http://dx.doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/30061
    Conference Presentations | 2023
    Caruana T, 2023, 'What happens when your pharmacy is destroyed or cut off by flooding? Experiences of opioid agonist treatment consumers and pharmacists in the New South Wales Northern Rivers region.', presented at Harm Reduction International Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 16 April 2023 - 19 April 2023, https://hr23.hri.global/abstract/181
    Reports | 2023
    Treloar C; Bradbury B; Naidoo Y; Cama E; Brener L; Caruana T; Calabrese S; Dorsch P; Philips J; Goldie C; Broady T; Treloar C, 2023, Community attitudes towards poverty and inequality, 2023: Snapshot report, http://dx.doi.org/10.26190/zznx-0s64
    Conference Presentations | 2022
    Caruana T; Brener L; Bryant J; Zwar N; Griffiths K, 2022, 'Consumer and pharmacist experiences of opioid agonist treatment in New South Wales community pharmacies', presented at Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs Conference, Darwin, Australia, 10 October 2022 - 12 October 2022, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13537
    Reports | 2021
    Brener L; Rance J; Caruana T; Horwitz R; Bryant J, 2021, Assessing the impact of COVID on harm reduction services, UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health, Sydney, http://dx.doi.org/10.26190/wpkj-dk70
    Reports | 2021
    Rance J; Bryant J; Caruana T; Brener L, 2021, Perspectives of COVID vaccines among people who inject drugs, UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health, Sydney, http://dx.doi.org/10.26190/gvvm-na51
    Conference Posters | 2015
    Yeung A; Caruana T; Grulich A; de Visser R; Rissel C; Simpson J; Richters J, 2015, 'P04.15 Sexual behaviour, sti testing and diagnosis down under: findings from the second australian study of health and relationships (ashr2)', Vol. 91, pp. a101.1 - a1a101, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2015-052270.269