Annual Report 2005-2006 - Drug Arm

DRUG ARM Australasia · Annual Report 2005 - 2006
16 5. Centre for Addiction Research and Education (CARE)
The Centre for Addiction Research and Education
(CARE) is a national division of DRUG ARM and
provides support to all programs and staff across
Australia.
CARE maintains a lean team comprising a
Librarian, a Library Technician, an Education
and Training Coordinator and the Director. At the
beginning of this fi nancial year CARE bade sad
farewells to Librarian Alethea Hubley, who left
to manage the library of All Hallows Theological
College, Library Technician Margaret Mowberry
(to the State Library) and to Kate Humphrys,
Community Development Offi cer, who moved to
the Department of Communities. However, CARE
welcomed new Librarian Jillian Griffi n, previously of
the Wesley Hospital, and new Library Technician
Corrinne Hills, previously from South Australia, to
the team.
CARE’s work was augmented by contributions from
University students from Griffi th University, QUT
and University of Queensland across a number of
faculties, who contributed over 2,250 hours to a
number of projects.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
National Evaluation project
CARE undertook a nationwide evaluation of DRUG
ARM programs. SOS programs in Wollongong
(NSW), Brisbane, Ipswich and Bundaberg (Qld),
MOSHPIT in Qld, HART programs in NSW and
Qld and CART in SA, Get Set youth program in SA
were all covered. This complex project involved the
CARE students and staff in all states. During late
2006, evaluations of SOS programs in NSW and
SA and the FADS program in Toowoomba, Qld, will
be completed.
Schoolies Week research
During November 2005 CARE continued its 10-
year study of the drug- and risk-taking behaviour of
young people celebrating at Schoolies Week on the
Gold Coast. Data now exceeds 12,000 responses
over 7 years, and was augmented in 2005 by initial
data on young people’s intentions for Schoolies
Week. One paper on this research was published
in Of Substance journal in January 2005, and new
results were presented at the 5th International
Drugs and Young People conference in Sydney in
May 2006.
Publications
Salom CL, Watts MP, Kinner S and Young
DC, Schoolies Week In Perspective (2005), Of
Substance, January 2005.
Salom CL and Hubley AM (Eds), Matters of
Substance 2005 – magazine for schools education.
Salom CL, Watts MP, Kinner S and Young DC,
Schoolies Week: Intent vs Reality (2006), presented
at 5th International Drugs and Young People
conference, Sydney, May 2006.
Safer Partying Project
Funded by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation
Foundation (AERF), CARE has developed
community information workshops on preventing
the harms at adolescent parties, and is training
members of communities across New South Wales
and Queensland to deliver these sessions.
Research collaborations
QADREC (UQ): Amphetamines Treatment
Outcomes Study (in association with NDARC)
QADREC (UQ): Data contributions to national PDI
and IDRS studies
Criminology (Griffi th University): Youth crime
prevention projects meta-analysis
Education and Training
Development of volunteer training courses
continued during 2005-2006, with current
modules updated and expanded to meet program
needs. Three new stand-alone workshops on