Significant boost for research on illicit drugs in regional Victoria

Research into the health care needs of people who use illicit drugs in rural Victoria, led by Monash Rural Health and Burnet Institute, will be expanded to Mildura after receiving funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Injecting drug use and methamphetamine smoking account for the majority of illicit drug-related harms and associated healthcare costs in Australia. The Methamphetamine and Injecting Drug Use Cohort Study (MIXMAX) will produce new evidence on the nature and extent of these harms and the effectiveness of interventions to address them.

The new study combines two established studies - the SuperMIX study of people who inject drugs and the VMAX study on long-term patterns of methamphetamine smoking in metropolitan and regional Victoria - to generate the largest active cohort of people who use drugs in Australia.

A community event to be held in Mildura on Wednesday 8 November will highlight findings from the research to date about injecting drug use and methamphetamine smoking, and discuss the expansion of this research into the Mildura region.

The MIXMAX study will combine the ground-breaking SuperMIX study of people who inject drugs which began in 2008, with the in-depth VMAX study established in 2016 focusing on people who smoke methamphetamine. VMAX has been operating in Melbourne, Bendigo, Shepparton and Gippsland, but thanks to additional research funding from the NHMRC, SuperMIX will be extended to these rural sites and both the SuperMIX and VMAX studies will be expanded into Mildura. Lung function and blood testing will be introduced to all rural sites. The study includes extensive data linkage, so will answer key questions about drug-related harms and ways to prevent them.

According to Associate Professor Bernadette Ward from Monash Rural Health, who will lead the rural component of MIXMAX, the main aims of the research are to explore the long-term health impacts of drug use, the effectiveness of health service interventions, and the impact of factors such as homelessness and imprisonment on drug usage.

“In order to develop services and solutions that work long term for people who use methamphetamines in rural areas, we first need to understand firsthand what the needs are, and where people are likely to engage. This research will go a long way to help shape services to meet people where they are at,” Associate Professor Ward said.

Community members and representatives from local community organisations and services in Mildura are invited to attend a free community information event in Mildura on 8 November, where Associate Professor Ward and Professor Paul Dietze from Burnet Institute will share insights from long-term research studies and the proposed expansion of the MIXMAX research project into the Mildura region.

Event details: 

How can we find out about drug and methamphetamine use in Mildura?

Date: 8 November 2023 at 7.30 pm – 8.30 pm

Venue: Benetook Room, 190 Deakin Avenue, Mildura

Open to:  Community members, health professionals, representatives from health and community organisations

Register: https://bit.ly/3ty6aic