Background

Bridget works as a Research Assistant in the Disease Elimination Program, with a specific focus on viral hepatitis projects. She works on the Eliminate Hepatitis C Partnership Project and the Prime Study. She also works on the community-based hepatitis C testing and treatment project (CT2 Study) and QuickStart Evaluation project in Myanmar.

Bridget completed a Bachelor of Arts (International Studies) at RMIT and her honours in Health Sciences through Monash University at the Burnet Institute. Her honours project focussed on acceptability of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men in Myanmar.

In 2019, Bridget will commence her PhD exploring how to provide hepatitis C testing and treatment in resource-constrained settings using implementation science and health service delivery research methods. It will evaluate hepatitis C treatment programs in specialist and primary care settings in Myanmar to assess acceptability, requirements for scale-up and utility of an electronic medical records system; complemented by a systematic review to establish the variety and impact of simplified clinical pathways for hepatitis C care.

Qualifications

• 2014: Bachelor of Arts (International Studies), RMIT, Australia
• 2015: Honours (Health Sciences), Monash University, Australia

Projects (5)

Current (4)

• CREIDU: Centre for Research Excellence into Injecting Drug Use
  Improving the health of PWID through new research to inform public health policy and practice.
• CT2 Study: Community-based Testing and Treatment for Hepatitis C
  This hybrid trial is underway in Myanmar.
• EC Partnership: Eliminate Hepatitis C Partnership
  Informing the elimination of HCV through a community-based nurse-led model of care and treatment.
• SHARP: Sexual Health And Risk Prevention Study
  Assessing responses to HIV prevention measures among Australian MSM.

Past (1)

• Rapid-EC hepatitis C Pilot Study
  Investigating the feasibility of providing rapid point-of-care testing for hepatitis C in community clinics.

Publications (11)

2019 (2)

• Point-of-care hepatitis C testing from needle and syringe programs: An Australian feasibility study.
  Williams B, Howell J, Doyle J, Thompson AJ, Draper B, Layton C, Latham N, Bramwell F, Membrey D, Mcpherson M, Roney J, Stoové M, Hellard ME, Pedrana A
  Int J Drug Policy. 2019 Oct; 72:91-98
• Outcomes of treatment for hepatitis C in primary care compared to hospital-based care: a randomised controlled trial in people who inject drugs.
  Wade AJ, Doyle JS, Gane E, Stedman C, Draper B, Iser D, Roberts SK, Kemp W, Petrie D, Scott N, Higgs P, Agius PA, Roney J, Stothers L, Thompson AJ, Hellard ME
  Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Jun; Epub ahead of print

2018 (6)

• Community-based provision of direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C: study protocol and challenges of a randomized controlled trial.
  Wade AJ, Doyle JS, Gane E, Stedman C, Draper B, Iser D, Roberts SK, Kemp W, Petrie D, Scott N, Higgs P, Agius PA, Roney J, Stothers L, Thompson AJ, Hellard ME
  Trials. 2018 Jul; 19(1):383
• Characteristics of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TW) in Myanmar who test frequently for HIV.
  Veronese V, Min Oo Z, Win Thein Z, Draper B, Aung PP, Ryan C, Thant M, Hughes C, Stoovè M
  J Glob Health Rep. 2018 Jul; 2:e2018040
• Measuring and understanding the attitudes of Australian gay and bisexual men towards biomedical HIV prevention using cross-sectional data and factor analyses.
  Wilkinson AL, Draper BL, Pedrana AE, Asselin J, Holt M, Hellard ME, Stoové M
  Sex Transm Infect. 2018 Jun; 94(4):309-3014
• Comfort Relying on HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and Treatment as Prevention for Condomless Sex: Results of an Online Survey of Australian Gay and Bisexual Men.
  Holt M, Draper BL, Pedrana AE, Wilkinson AL, Stoové M
  AIDS Behav. 2018 Mar; 22(11):3617-3626
• Does training people to administer take-home naloxone increase their knowledge? Evidence from Australian programs.
  Dietze PM, Draper B, Olsen A, Chronister KJ, van Beek I, Lintzeris N, Dwyer R, Nelson M, Lenton S
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2018 Feb; 37(4):472-479
• Acceptability of Peer-Delivered HIV Testing and Counselling Among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) and Transgender Women (TW) in Myanmar.
  Veronese V, Oo ZM, Thein ZW, Aung PP, Draper BL, Hughes C, Ryan C, Pedrana A, Stoové M
  AIDS Behav. 2018 Feb; 22(8):2426-2434

2017 (2)

• Willingness to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among gay men, other men who have sex with men and transgender women in Myanmar.
  Draper BL, Oo ZM, Thein ZW, Aung PP, Veronese V, Ryan C, Thant M, Hughes C, Stoové M
  J Int AIDS Soc. 2017 Jul; 20(1):21885
• A survey of hepatitis C management by Victorian GPs after PBS-listing of direct-acting antiviral therapy.
  Wade A, Draper B, Doyle J, Allard N, Grinzi P, Thompson A, Hellard M
  Aust Fam Physician. 2017 Apr; 46(4):235-240

2016 (1)

• Achieving development goals for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa through integrated antenatal care: barriers and challenges.
  Fowkes FJ, Draper BL, Hellard M, Stoové M
  BMC Med. 2016 Dec; 14(1):202

News Articles (4)

2019 (1)

• Burnet Travel Awards

2018 (1)

• NHMRC grants for Burnet research

2017 (1)

• Hep C treatment decline prompts new call out

2016 (1)

• Burnet evaluation survey of HIV prevention campaigns