Researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW and NSW Users and AIDS Association (team include me - Monica Barratt/RMIT) are running an online survey about public health drug alerts. We want to hear about your experiences with drug alerts and how you’d like to receive information on drugs with a higher risk of harm in your area.
You may be eligible if you’re aged 18+, live in Australia, and have used illegal or non-prescribed drugs in the last 12 months (excluding cannabis). About the survey:
The project has been approved by the UNSW ethics committee (see details in full participant info sheet below).
The study is open from now until end of August 2023.
Follow the link below or email [email protected] for more info.
Link to survey
You are invited to take part in the Informing Drug Alerts in Australia (IDAA) research study. This study seeks to understand people’s awareness of, responses to, and preferences for communication of drug alerts, which are notices from public health agencies about substances with a significant risk of harm in circulation in the drug supply. We plan to use the study findings to develop practical guidance for health agencies to communicate drug alerts to people in Australia.
You have been invited to take part because you have indicated that you have used illegal drugs in the past year, and have expressed interest in participating in the study via response to our advertisements.
This research is being carried out by a group of researchers, clinicians and community members who, collectively, have decades of experience conducting research into illicit drug use, and who are committed to supporting the community of people who use drugs. The research is being conducted in collaboration with the NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA), a peer-based drug user organisation.
Specifically, the study is being carried out by the following researchers:
To be eligible to participate in this study, you will need to:
Participation in this research study is voluntary. If you do not wish to take part, you do not have to. If you decide to take part and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the study at any stage. Your decision on whether or not to take part will not affect your relationship with the organisations involved in this project or any service you access.
If you decide to take part in this research study, you will be asked to:
The prize draw is a chance to win one of 15x $50 GiftPay vouchers. Prizes will be drawn by the 29th September 2023. If there is no response from recipients within 14 days, prizes will be re-drawn.
Psychological distress: You may feel that some of the questions we ask are stressful or upsetting. If you do not wish to answer a question, you may skip it and move on to the next question, or stop and exit the survey. If at any stage during the study you become distressed or require additional support, please call:
Although you will not experience any direct benefits from this study, we hope the results will provide us with an understanding of the awareness, preferences and responses of people who use drugs in relation to drug alert communications. We also hope that we will be able to use this information to improve communication of drug alerts in the future.
By ticking the ’I have read and understood the information sheet and agree to take part’ box below, you agree (consent) to us collecting and using information about you for the study.
Survey data will be collected using a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. Data entered into this application are stored on UNSW Sydney’s OneDrive servers, which provides increased security. Your data will be kept for a minimum of 7 years after the completion of data collection or publication of results, whichever occurs last.
All information we collect from you will be stored securely and treated confidentially. We will not give your information to anyone without your permission. The information about you will be stored in a:
The research team intend to publish and report the results of the research. All information will be published in a way that will not identify you.
If you would like to receive a copy of the results you can let the research team know by ticking a checkbox at the end of the survey or by emailing the Chief Investigator ([email protected]). If you choose to receive the results, you will receive an e-newsletter containing an overview of the survey results. You will also be able to access these newsletters, as well as other reporting outputs, from the project webpage.
If you do consent to participate, you may withdraw at any time. You can do this by exiting the survey. As we do not collect any identifying information in the survey, we will not be able to remove any responses you have previously provided.
Your decision not to participate or to withdraw from the study will not affect your relationship with the organisations involved in this project.
The information you provide is personal information for the purposes of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW). You have the right of access to personal information held about you by the University, the right to request correction and amendment of it, and the right to make a complaint about a breach of the Information Protection Principles as contained in the PPIP Act. Further information on how the University protects personal information is available in the UNSW Privacy Management Plan.
The person you may need to contact will depend on the nature of your query. If you require further information regarding this study or if you have any problems which may be related to your involvement in the study, you can contact the following member/s of the research team during business hours:
If you have a complaint regarding any aspect of the study or the way it is being conducted, please contact the UNSW Human Ethics Coordinator during business hours:
Complaints Contact
When you provide consent below, you are indicating that you have read the information about the study, and that you agree with each of the points listed here:
Declaration by the participant
By clicking the arrow below:
You may be eligible if you’re aged 18+, live in Australia, and have used illegal or non-prescribed drugs in the last 12 months (excluding cannabis). About the survey:
- Confidential & anonymous
- ~15 minutes to complete
- Enter the prize draw for the chance to win 1x 15 GiftPay vouchers.
The project has been approved by the UNSW ethics committee (see details in full participant info sheet below).
The study is open from now until end of August 2023.
Follow the link below or email [email protected] for more info.
Link to survey
Participant Information Statement and Consent Form
1. What is the research study about?
You are invited to take part in the Informing Drug Alerts in Australia (IDAA) research study. This study seeks to understand people’s awareness of, responses to, and preferences for communication of drug alerts, which are notices from public health agencies about substances with a significant risk of harm in circulation in the drug supply. We plan to use the study findings to develop practical guidance for health agencies to communicate drug alerts to people in Australia.
You have been invited to take part because you have indicated that you have used illegal drugs in the past year, and have expressed interest in participating in the study via response to our advertisements.
2. Who is conducting this research?
This research is being carried out by a group of researchers, clinicians and community members who, collectively, have decades of experience conducting research into illicit drug use, and who are committed to supporting the community of people who use drugs. The research is being conducted in collaboration with the NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA), a peer-based drug user organisation.
Specifically, the study is being carried out by the following researchers:
- Chief Investigator: Dr Amy Peacock, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)
- Co-investigators: Dr Mary Ellen Harrod (NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA)), Alice Pierce (NUAA), Dr Jane Akhurst (NDARC, UNSW Sydney), Isabelle Volpe (NDARC, UNSW Sydney), Dr Rachel Sutherland (NDARC, UNSW Sydney), Joel Keygan (NDARC, UNSW Sydney), Associate Professor Raimondo Bruno (University of Tasmania), Dr Monica Barratt (RMIT University), Professor Harry Sumnall (Liverpool John Moores University), Dr Robert Page (St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney), Jared Brown (NSW Ministry of Health), Dr Penny Hill (NDARC, UNSW Sydney & National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED)) and Dr Nadine Ezard (NCCRED & St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney).
3. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria
To be eligible to participate in this study, you will need to:
- Be aged 18 years or older;
- Have lived in Australia for the past 6 months or longer;
- Have used illegal drugs at least once in the past 12 months. This includes any of the following: a. illegal drugs (excluding cannabis), such as MDMA/ecstasy, methamphetamine/ice, cocaine, LSD/acid, ketamine/special K, GHB/GBL, heroin; and/or b. prescription opioids (e.g., morphine, oxycodone) and benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium, Xanax) which were not prescribed to you or which were prescribed to you but not taken in accordance with prescription directions;
- Have access to a device on which you can complete the internet-based survey.
4. Do I have to take part in this research study?
Participation in this research study is voluntary. If you do not wish to take part, you do not have to. If you decide to take part and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the study at any stage. Your decision on whether or not to take part will not affect your relationship with the organisations involved in this project or any service you access.
5. What does participation in this research require, and are there any risks involved?
If you decide to take part in this research study, you will be asked to:
- Read this information carefully;
- Complete one online survey; and
- Provide us with an email address if you wish to receive a copy of the study results, enter the prize draw and/or receive correspondence about future related research participation opportunities (this information will be stored separately from your survey answers to ensure that your survey responses remain anonymous and confidential).
- General information about you (e.g., age, gender);
- Drugs (including illegal drugs) that you have recently used;
- Your preferences as to how you see or hear about drug alerts, and what information those alerts contain; and
- Your awareness of and responses to recent drug alerts that have been circulated by public health agencies.
The prize draw is a chance to win one of 15x $50 GiftPay vouchers. Prizes will be drawn by the 29th September 2023. If there is no response from recipients within 14 days, prizes will be re-drawn.
Psychological distress: You may feel that some of the questions we ask are stressful or upsetting. If you do not wish to answer a question, you may skip it and move on to the next question, or stop and exit the survey. If at any stage during the study you become distressed or require additional support, please call:
- Lifeline (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ph: 13 11 14);
- Mental Health Crisis Team: 1300 011 511
- National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline: 1800 250 015
- Family Drug Support 24-hour line: 1300 368 186
- Counselling Online (Counselling Online - free drug and alcohol counselling in Australia)
- QLife 1800 184 527 (Webchat: https://qlife.org.au/resources/chat)
- Poisons Information Hotline: 13 11 26
- NSW: NUAA
- Vic: Harm Reduction Victoria (HRVic)/Melbourne/Home
- Qld: Homepage - QNADA and Home - QuIHN
- WA: Peer Based Harm Reduction WA
- SA: Hepatitis SA | Leading the community response to viral hepatitis
- ACT: Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation & Advocacy | CAHMA
- NT: NTAHC | Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council
- National: Home - Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL)
6. What are the possible benefits to participation?
Although you will not experience any direct benefits from this study, we hope the results will provide us with an understanding of the awareness, preferences and responses of people who use drugs in relation to drug alert communications. We also hope that we will be able to use this information to improve communication of drug alerts in the future.
7. What will happen to information about me?
By ticking the ’I have read and understood the information sheet and agree to take part’ box below, you agree (consent) to us collecting and using information about you for the study.
Survey data will be collected using a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. Data entered into this application are stored on UNSW Sydney’s OneDrive servers, which provides increased security. Your data will be kept for a minimum of 7 years after the completion of data collection or publication of results, whichever occurs last.
All information we collect from you will be stored securely and treated confidentially. We will not give your information to anyone without your permission. The information about you will be stored in a:
- Non-identifiable format, where your identity will be unknown.
- If you provide your email address to receive a copy of the study results, enter the prize draw and/or receive correspondence about future research, your email address will be stored separately from your survey responses.This will ensure that your responses remain anonymous and confidential.
8. How and when will I find out what the results of the research study are?
The research team intend to publish and report the results of the research. All information will be published in a way that will not identify you.
If you would like to receive a copy of the results you can let the research team know by ticking a checkbox at the end of the survey or by emailing the Chief Investigator ([email protected]). If you choose to receive the results, you will receive an e-newsletter containing an overview of the survey results. You will also be able to access these newsletters, as well as other reporting outputs, from the project webpage.
9. What if I want to withdraw from the research study?
If you do consent to participate, you may withdraw at any time. You can do this by exiting the survey. As we do not collect any identifying information in the survey, we will not be able to remove any responses you have previously provided.
Your decision not to participate or to withdraw from the study will not affect your relationship with the organisations involved in this project.
The information you provide is personal information for the purposes of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW). You have the right of access to personal information held about you by the University, the right to request correction and amendment of it, and the right to make a complaint about a breach of the Information Protection Principles as contained in the PPIP Act. Further information on how the University protects personal information is available in the UNSW Privacy Management Plan.
10. What should I do if I have further questions about my involvement in the research study?
The person you may need to contact will depend on the nature of your query. If you require further information regarding this study or if you have any problems which may be related to your involvement in the study, you can contact the following member/s of the research team during business hours:
| Research Team Contact/Chief Investigator Name | Dr Amy Peacock |
| Position | Chief Investigator |
| Telephone | +61 2 9385 0333 |
| [email protected] |
11. What if I have a complaint or any concerns about the research study?
If you have a complaint regarding any aspect of the study or the way it is being conducted, please contact the UNSW Human Ethics Coordinator during business hours:
Complaints Contact
| Position | Human Research Ethics Coordinator |
| Telephone | +61 2 9385 6222 |
| [email protected] | |
| HC Reference Number | HC210404 |
Consent Form – Participant providing own consent
When you provide consent below, you are indicating that you have read the information about the study, and that you agree with each of the points listed here:
Declaration by the participant
By clicking the arrow below:
- I understand I am being asked to provide consent to participate in this research study
- I have read the Participant Information Sheet
- I understand the purposes, study tasks, and risks of the research described in the study
- I understand that if necessary, I can ask questions and the research team will respond to my questions
- I freely agree to participate in this research study as described and understand that I am free to withdraw at any time during the study and withdrawal will not affect my relationship with any of the named organisations and/or research team members.
