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SuperMIX: The Melbourne Injecting Drug User Cohort Study

People who inject drugs often experience a range of harms related to the social circumstances in which they live, the drugs they use and the policies related to this. SuperMIX is the largest and only active cohort study of its type ever conducted in Australia providing a platform for understanding some of the factors, such as homelessness, that impact on the health of people who inject drugs. Importantly, it can also examine the effects of services, such as supervised injecting facilities, and whether they improve the health of people who inject drugs.

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SuperMIX is a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) that has been running in various forms at the Burnet Institute since 2008. The original cohort of 688 was recruited between 2008 and 2010 with an additional 69 participants added to the cohort in 2011.

In 2017 we began a new recruitment wave and the study has more than 1,300 participants in 2023. Ongoing recruitment and follow-up will continue through to the end of 2026. Further work will be undertaken using a range of novel measures to examine a broader range of health issues that cohort participants may experience.

2008-2026

SuperMIX provided important information about how injecting drug use evolves over time, focused on periods during which cohort members cease injecting drug use and if they subsequently relapse and the drivers of this cessation and relapse. It has produced fundamental new information on service use by people who inject drugs and shown how some services such as supervised injecting facilities reduce harms.

Professor Paul Dietze

Please contact Professor Paul Dietze for more information about this project.

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Funding
Partners

  • Colonial Foundation Trust
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (545891, 1126090, 2019034)

Partners +
Collaborators

  • Matthew Hickman, University of Bristol
  • Thomas Kerr, BC Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS
  • Lisa Maher, Kirby Institute
  • Sione Crawford, Harm Reduction Victoria
  • Paul Agius, Deakin University
  • Andrew Stewardson, Monash University
  • Jack Stone, University of Bristol
  • Bernadette Ward, Monash University
  • Michael Livingston, Curtin University

Project
Team

Meet the project team. Together, we are translating research into better health, for all.

Shady Abdelsalam

MASTER’S STUDENT

Shady is a Master of Public Health (MPH) student at La Trobe University. Having completed...

Associate Professor Paul Agius

HONORARY PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW

Paul is a public health researcher with over 15 years of research experience. He is an Honorary Fell...

Doctor Campbell Aitken

RESEARCH FELLOW

Campbell joined the Burnet Institute in 1995. Since that time he has conducted research...

Anja Busse

HONORARY SENIOR FELLOW

In the first half of 2023, Anja Busse is on a sabbatical from her position as Programme Officer...

Caitlin Caselli

MASTER’S STUDENT

Caitlin is a Master of Public Health student at the University of Melbourne, specialising in epidemi...

Doctor Jocelyn Chan

PUBLIC HEALTH PHYSICIAN AND RESEARCH OFFICER

Dr Chan is a public health physician and epidemiologist. She is currently undertaking specialist...

Doctor Samantha Colledge-Frisby

HONORARY POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW

Samantha completed her PhD at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre...

Stephanie Curtis

SURVEILLANCE OFFICER / MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGY) SCHOLAR

Steph is completing Australia's field epidemiology training program, the Master...

Doctor Michael Curtis

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH OFFICER

Michael completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) at Monash...

Professor Paul Dietze

PROGRAM DIRECTOR, DISEASE ELIMINATION; PROFESSOR AND PROGRAM LEADER, NATIONAL DRUG RESEARCH INSTITUTE (NDRI)

Professor Paul Dietze is one of Australia's leading alcohol and other drug epidemiologists...

Associate Professor Peter Higgs

PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW; HONORARY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

Peter has a background in community development and has worked with marginalised populations...

Penny Hill

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Penny commenced her PhD in 2017, under the supervision of Professor Paul Dietze. Her work focuses on...

Amy Kirwan

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, SOCIAL IMPACT AND INNOVATION

Amy Kirwan is an applied researcher with a long history of operationalising research in sensitive an...

Zachary Lloyd

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Doctor Thi Nguyen

DATA MANAGER

Dr. Thi Nguyen has a diverse background in computer science, data science, and public health...

Rebekka (Bek) Petrovic

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Bek joined Burnet in 2022 as a Research Assistant on SuperMix: The Melbourne Injecting...

Ashleigh Stewart

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW

Ash completed a Bachelor of Nursing in 2013 and went on to complete her Master's in...

Shelley Walker
Doctor Shelley Walker

RESEARCH FELLOW

Shelley is a social science researcher with appointments at Burnet Institute and the National Drug R...

Publications

VIEW ALL RESEARCH
Does sexuality matter? A cross-sectional study of drug use, social injecting, and access to injection-specific care among men who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

Schroeder SE, Wilkinson AL, O'Keefe D, Bourne A, Doyle JS, Hellard M, Dietze P, Pedrana A

  • Harm reduction journal
  • 23 Jan 2023
Incidence of HIV and hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs, and associations with age and sex or gender: a global systematic review and meta-analysis.

Artenie A, Stone J, Fraser H, Stewart D, Arum C, Lim AG, McNaughton AL, Trickey A, Ward Z, Abramovitz D, Alary M, Astemborski J, Bruneau J, Clipman SJ, Coffin CS, Croxford S, DeBeck K, Emanuel E, Hayashi K, Hermez JG, Low-Beer D, Luhmann N, Macphail G, Maher L, Palmateer NE, Patel EU, Sacks-Davis R, Van Den Boom W, van Santen DK, Walker JG, Hickman M, Vickerman P; HIV and HCV Incidence Review Collaborative Group (including Dietze P and Hellard M)

  • The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology
  • 01 Jun 2023
Injecting Drug Use HIV + AIDS Hepatitis C
Comprehensive needle and syringe program and opioid agonist therapy reduce HIV and hepatitis c virus acquisition among people who inject drugs in different settings: a pooled analysis of emulated trials.

van Santen DK, Lodi S, Dietze P, van den Boom W, Hayashi K, Dong H, Cui Z, Maher L, Hickman M, Boyd A, Prins M

  • Addiction
  • 29 Jan 2023
Injecting Drug Use HIV + AIDS Hepatitis C
Trust and service engagement among people who inject drugs after release from prison.

Lafferty L, Schroeder S, Marshall AD, Drysdale K, Higgs P, Stoové M, Baldry E, Dietze P, Treloar C

  • The International journal on drug policy
  • 14 Dec 2022
Injecting Drug Use Justice Health
Cohort Profile: The Melbourne Injecting Drug User Cohort Study (SuperMIX).

Van Den Boom W, Quiroga MDM, O'Keefe D, Kumar D, Hill PL, Scott N, Agius PA, Higgs P, Kerr T, Maher L, Hickman M, Stoové M, Dietze P

  • International journal of epidemiology
  • 14 Jun 2022
"It's a revolving door": Ego-depletion among prisoners with injecting drug use histories as a barrier to post-release success.

Schroeder SE, Drysdale K, Lafferty L, Baldry E, Marshall AD, Higgs P, Dietze P, Stoove M, Treloar C

  • The International journal on drug policy
  • 07 Jan 2022
Barriers to women's disclosure of and treatment for substance use during pregnancy: A qualitative study.

Oni HT, Drake JA, Dietze P, Higgs P, Islam MM

  • Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives
  • 27 Dec 2021
Mortality in the SuperMIX cohort of people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia: a prospective observational study.

Hill PL, Stoové M, Agius PA, Maher L, Hickman M, Crawford S, Dietze P

  • Addiction (Abingdon, England)
  • 24 Jun 2022
The Melbourne Safe Injecting Room Attracted People Most in Need of Its Service.

Van Den Boom W, Del Mar Quiroga M, Fetene DM, Agius PA, Higgs PG, Maher L, Hickman M, Stoové MA, Dietze PM

  • American journal of preventive medicine
  • 17 May 2021
Prevalence and correlates of simultaneous, multiple substance injection (co-injection) among people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

Palmer A, Higgs P, Scott N, Agius P, Maher L, Dietze P

  • Addiction (Abingdon, England)
  • 27 Aug 2020
The association between depression and oral health related quality of life in people who inject drugs.

Abdelsalam S, Van Den Boom W, Higgs P, Dietze P, Erbas B

  • Drug and alcohol dependence
  • 10 Oct 2021
Blood donation amongst people who inject drugs in Australia: research supporting policy change.

Quinn B, Pearson R, Cutts J, Seed C, Scott N, Hoad V, Dietze P, Wilson D, Maher L, Thompson A, Farrell M, Harrod M, Caris S, Pink J, Kotsiou G, Hellard M

  • Vox sanguinis
  • 05 Feb 2020
Sex Discrepancies in the Protective Effect of Opioid Agonist Therapy on Incident Hepatitis C Infection.

Geddes L, Iversen J, Wand H, Esmaeili A, Tsui J, Hellard M, Dore G, Grebely J, Dietze P, Bruneau J, Prins M, Morris MD, Shoukry NH, Lloyd AR, Kim AY, Lauer G, Cox AL, Page K, Maher L, International Collaboration of Incident HIV and HCV in Injecting Cohorts (InC3) Collaborative

  • Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
  • 06 Jan 2021
The impact of Victoria's real time prescription monitoring system (SafeScript) in a cohort of people who inject drugs.

Fetene DM, Higgs P, Nielsen S, Djordjevic F, Dietze P

  • The Medical journal of Australia
  • 18 Feb 2021
"I'm obviously not dying so it's not something I need to sort out today": Considering hepatitis C treatment in the era of direct acting antivirals.

Wright C, Cogger S, Hsieh K, Goutzamanis S, Hellard M, Higgs P

  • Infection, disease & health
  • 28 Nov 2018
Geo-spatial analysis of individual-level needle and syringe coverage in Melbourne, Australia.

O'Keefe D, Wilkinson A, Aitken C, Dietze P

  • PloS one
  • 14 Dec 2018
Drug overdose in the ED: a record linkage study examining emergency department ICD-10 coding practices in a cohort of people who inject drugs.

Di Rico R, Nambiar D, Stoové M, Dietze P

  • BMC health services research
  • 05 Dec 2018
Incarceration history and risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus acquisition among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Stone J, Fraser H, Lim AG, Walker JG, Ward Z, MacGregor L, Trickey A, Abbott S, Strathdee SA, Abramovitz D, Maher L, Iversen J, Bruneau J, Zang G, Garfein RS, Yen YF, Azim T, Mehta SH, Milloy MJ, Hellard ME, Sacks-Davis R, Dietze PM, Aitken C, Aladashvili M, Tsertsvadze T, Mravčík V, Alary M, Roy E, Smyrnov P, Sazonova Y, Young AM, Havens JR, Hope VD, Desai M, Heinsbroek E, Hutchinson SJ, Palmateer NE, McAuley A, Platt L, Martin NK, Altice FL, Hickman M, Vickerman P

  • The Lancet. Infectious diseases
  • 29 Oct 2018
Analysis of time of drug use according to needle and syringe program operating hours in Melbourne, Australia: Effects on individual-level needle and syringe coverage.

O'Keefe D, Aitken C, Scott N, Dietze P

  • Drug and alcohol dependence
  • 22 Aug 2018
Should sterile needle and syringe wastage be included within individual-level needle and syringe coverage measures?

Daniel O, Campbell A, Paul D

  • The International journal on drug policy
  • 02 Aug 2018
Experiences of liver health related uncertainty and self-reported stress among people who inject drugs living with hepatitis C virus: a qualitative study.

Goutzamanis S, Doyle JS, Thompson A, Dietze P, Hellard M, Higgs P, TAP study group

  • BMC infectious diseases
  • 02 Apr 2018
Are People Who Inject Drugs Frequent Users of Emergency Department Services? A Cohort Study (2008-2013).

Nambiar D, Spelman T, Stoové M, Dietze P

  • Substance use & misuse
  • 16 Oct 2017
The Association between Intentional Overdose and Same-Sex Sexual Intercourse in a Cohort of People who Inject Drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

O'Keefe D, Bowring A, Aitken C, Dietze P

  • Substance use & misuse
  • 29 Sep 2017
The Effect of Female Sex on Hepatitis C Incidence Among People Who Inject Drugs: Results From the International Multicohort InC3 Collaborative.

Esmaeili A, Mirzazadeh A, Morris MD, Hajarizadeh B, Sacks HS, Maher L, Grebely J, Kim AY, Lauer G, Cox AL, Hellard M, Dietze P, Bruneau J, Shoukry NH, Dore GJ, Lloyd AR, Prins M, Page K, InC3 Collaborative

  • Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
  • 30 Sep 2019
Assessing individual-level needle and syringe coverage parameters and the measurement of coverage in Melbourne, Australia: methods and impacts.

O'Keefe D, Scott N, Aitken C, Dietze P

  • Journal of public health (Oxford, England)
  • 06 Nov 2019
A prospective cohort study of hospital separations among people who inject drugs in Australia: 2008-2013.

Nambiar D, Stoové M, Hickman M, Dietze P

  • BMJ open
  • 18 Aug 2017
Longitudinal changes in psychological distress in a cohort of people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

Scott N, Carrotte ER, Higgs P, Cogger S, Stoové MA, Aitken CK, Dietze PM

  • Drug and alcohol dependence
  • 11 Sep 2016
Frequent emergency department presentations among people who inject drugs: A record linkage study.

Nambiar D, Stoové M, Dietze P

  • The International journal on drug policy
  • 13 May 2017
The effects of needle-sharing and opioid substitution therapy on incidence of hepatitis C virus infection and reinfection in people who inject drugs.

Aitken CK, Agius PA, Higgs PG, Stoové MA, Bowden DS, Dietze PM

  • Epidemiology and infection
  • 08 Dec 2016
From initiating injecting drug use to regular injecting: Retrospective survival analysis of injecting progression within a sample of people who inject drugs regularly.

O'Keefe D, Horyniak D, Dietze P

  • Drug and alcohol dependence
  • 23 Nov 2015
Mortality in the Melbourne injecting drug user cohort study (MIX).

Nambiar D, Agius PA, Stoové M, Hickman M, Dietze P

  • Harm reduction journal
  • 09 Dec 2015
Patterns of, and Factors Associated With, Illicit Pharmaceutical Opioid Analgesic Use in a Prospective Cohort of People Who Inject Drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

Horyniak D, Agius PA, Degenhardt L, Reddel S, Higgs P, Aitken C, Stoové M, Dietze P

  • Substance use & misuse
  • 17 Nov 2015
Cessation of injecting drug use: The effects of health service utilisation, drug use and demographic factors.

Nambiar D, Agius PA, Stoové M, Hickman M, Dietze P

  • Drug and alcohol dependence
  • 30 Jun 2015
How do drug market changes affect characteristics of injecting initiation and subsequent patterns of drug use? Findings from a cohort of regular heroin and methamphetamine injectors in Melbourne, Australia.

Horyniak D, Stoové M, Degenhardt L, Aitken C, Kerr T, Dietze P

  • The International journal on drug policy
  • 17 Sep 2014
High-frequency drug purity and price series as tools for explaining drug trends and harms in Victoria, Australia.

Scott N, Caulkins JP, Ritter A, Quinn C, Dietze P

  • Addiction (Abingdon, England)
  • 23 Oct 2014
Experiences of and attitudes toward injecting drug use among marginalized African migrant and refugee youth in Melbourne, Australia.

Horyniak D, Higgs P, Cogger S, Dietze P, Bofu T, Seid G

  • Journal of ethnicity in substance abuse
  • 15 Jul 2015
A cross-sectional study describing factors associated with utilisation of GP services by a cohort of people who inject drugs.

Nambiar D, Stoové M, Dietze P

  • BMC health services research
  • 16 Jul 2014
Are users' most recent drug purchases representative?

Bond B, Caulkins JP, Scott N, Kilmer B, Dietze P

  • Drug and alcohol dependence
  • 23 Jun 2014
Establishing the Melbourne Injecting Drug User Cohort Study (MIX): rationale, methods, and baseline and twelve-month follow-up results.

Horyniak D, Higgs P, Jenkinson R, Degenhardt L, Stoové M, Kerr T, Hickman M, Aitken C, Dietze P

  • Harm reduction journal
  • 21 Jun 2013
Concordance between self-reported and actual hepatitis C virus infection status in a cohort of people who inject drugs.

O'Keefe D, Aitken C, Higgs P, Dietze P

  • Drug and alcohol review
  • 03 Sep 2012
The relationship between alcohol use and injecting drug use: impacts on health, crime and wellbeing.

Dietze P, Jenkinson R, Aitken C, Stoové M, Jolley D, Hickman M, Kerr T

  • Drug and alcohol dependence
  • 16 Sep 2012
A response to: Self-reported and actual hepatitis C virus infection status.

O'Keefe D, Aitken C, Higgs P, Dietze P

  • Drug and alcohol review
  • 01 Nov 2012
A cross-sectional study of emergency department visits by people who inject drugs.

Aitken C, Kerr T, Hickman M, Stoové M, Higgs P, Dietze P

  • Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
  • 16 Jul 2012