High rates of injecting drug use, blood-borne virus infection and poor physical and mental health characterise a growing population people incarcerated in Australia.
Finding effective responses is hampered by our only partial understanding of prisoner health needs and the extent to which these are identified and appropriate responses integrated into pre- and post-release care plans.
To help fill this gap in knowledge we are undertaking a globally unique prospective study of people incarcerated and released from prison with recent histories of injecting drug use in Australia.
2012–complete.
The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) cohort study helps inform policy and practice responses to reduce intersecting harms associated with incarceration and drug use. It characterises the transition from prison to the community among men in Victoria, Australia, who reported regular injecting drug use in the months prior to imprisonment.
Between 2014 and 2016, 400 men were interviewed in the weeks leading up to their release and then followed up with interviews scheduled three months, one year and two years after their release.
Interviews cover demographics, drug use and treatment histories, pre/post release service access and utilisation, criminal involvement and incarceration history, drug using risk behaviours and standardised measures of health. Extensive record linkage to health and law enforcement data bases compliments these data at approximately 2, 5 and 10 years post-release.
Conducted in collaboration with Justice Health (Victoria) and researchers from the University of New South Wales and Swinburne University, this project will provide important insights to inform policy and practice to prevent ongoing health and social harms experienced by people who use drugs and are incarcerated.
Harm Reduction Journal
M. David Curtis, Anna L. Wilkinson, Paul Dietze, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Rebecca Winter, Shelley Walker, Reece Cossar, Mark Stoové
Emergency Medicine Journal
M. David Curtis, Anna L. Wilkinson, Paul Dietze, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Campbell Aitken, Shelley Walker, Rebecca Winter, Mark Stoové
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
M. David Curtis, Paul Dietze, Anna L. Wilkinson, Paul A. Agius, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Shelley Walker, Amy Kirwan, Rebecca Winter, Mark Stoové
The Medical Journal of Australia
M. David Curtis, Paul Dietze, Rebecca Winter, Kasun Rathnayake, Mark Stoové
Journal of Criminology
Lyn Pierce, Shelley Walker, M. David Curtis, Emma Woods, Amy Kirwan, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Rebecca Winter, Paul Dietze, Mark Stoové
Addiction
Reece Cossar, M. David Curtis, Rebecca Winter, Paul Dietze, Anna L. Wilkinson, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Paul A. Agius, Campbell Aitken, Amy Kirwan, Shelley Walker
International Journal of Drug Policy
M. David Curtis, Mark Stoové
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Anna L. Wilkinson, Nick Scott, Paul Dietze, Brendan Quinn, Campbell Aitken, Shelley Walker, M. David Curtis, Mark Stoové
International Journal of Drug Policy
Reece Cossar, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Anna L. Wilkinson, Paul Dietze, Campbell Aitken, M. David Curtis, Shelley Walker, Amy Kirwan, Mark Stoové
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Anna L. Wilkinson, Brendan Quinn, Paul Dietze, Shelley Walker, M. David Curtis, Campbell Aitken, Amy Kirwan, Rebecca Winter
BMC Medical Research Methodology
Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Shelley Walker, Anna L. Wilkinson, Brendan Quinn, Paul Dietze, Rebecca Winter, Amy Kirwan, M. David Curtis, Emma Woods
Journal of Addiction Medicine
M. David Curtis, Sarah Larney, Peter Higgs, Reece Cossar, Rebecca Winter, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Mark Stoové
Addiction
Reece Cossar, Ashleigh C. Stewart, Rebecca Winter, M. David Curtis, Paul Dietze, Mark Stoové
Journal of Urban Health
Amy Kirwan, M. David Curtis, Paul Dietze, Campbell Aitken, Emma Woods, Shelley Walker, Amy Kirwan, M. David Curtis, Paul Dietze, Campbell Aitken
Health & Justice
Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Paul Dietze, M. David Curtis, Amy Kirwan, Mark Stoové
Harm Reduction Journal
M. David Curtis, Paul Dietze, Campbell Aitken, Amy Kirwan, Mark Stoové
Health & Justice
Mark Stoové, Paul Dietze, Campbell Aitken, M. David Curtis, Amy Kirwan
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Ashleigh C. Stewart, Reece Cossar, Mark Stoové
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Shelley Walker, Freya Saich, Mark Stoové, Rebecca Winter
International Journal of Drug Policy
Shelley Walker, Peter Higgs, Mark Stoové
Qualitative Health Research
Shelley Walker, Peter Higgs, Mark Stoové
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology
Shelley Walker, Peter Higgs, Mark Stoové
Contemporary Drug Problems
Shelley Walker, Mark Stoové, Peter Higgs
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
Shelley Walker, Peter Higgs, Mark Stoové
Justice Health, Victoria
Curtin University
Kirby Institute, UNSW
Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University