An electronic publication from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Issue 9, November 2000 - February 2001 : ISSN 1329-3362
Conference abstracts and papers
12th National Health Promotion Conference: Inequalities in health
- reflecting back, stepping forward.
29 October - 1 November 2000, Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne, Victoria.
Alister Thorpe and Anke
van der Sterren
The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Injecting Drug Use Project
-a harm minimisation project in the Melbourne Koori community.
The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Injecting Drub Use Project commenced in 1996 in response to the growing concerns in the Koori community about apparent increases in injecting drug use. The aim of the project is to reduce the risk of HIV and hepatitis C transmission among injecting drug users in the Melbourne Koori community.
The first phase of the research involved semi-structured and unstructured interviews and focus group discussions with a variety of community members, both those using and not using injecting drugs. The second phase involves the development, implementation and evaluation of socially appropriate and effective primary health care programs for Kooris injecting drugs, their families, and the community.
After presenting some of the findings of the first phase of research, we will talk about some of the activities undertaken during the second phase. This project is a good example of community controlled research and how this research is used to develop activities and strategies which address community needs.
