Alcohol and Other Drugs

In Australia, alcohol and other drug dependence is a major issue. According to Rethink Addiction (2022), it contributes to health and social harms that cost the Australian community approximately $35 billion a year.

Burnet has a well-established reputation working with communities to reduce alcohol and other drug-related harms. This includes at-risk populations such as:

• people who are drug dependent
• people without stable housing
• people who inject drugs.

Our work uses innovative research designs and methods including:

• cross-sectional surveys
• population surveys
• longitudinal cohort data linkage studies

We also collaborate with researchers from key national and international institutions. 

Our aims are to:

• document the trajectories of alcohol and other drug use
• document key intervention points to reduce harms
• develop innovative studies to better understand
  • patterns of alcohol and other drug use
  • related harms in the community
• develop, implement and evaluate new interventions to reduce alcohol and other drug-related harms.