Doctor Alys Havard

Biography

Alys Havard (PhD, MPH, BPsych (Hons)) is a Research Fellow in the Population Health Division of the School of Medicine at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). Her primary research interest is the epidemiology of health service use associated with tobacco, alcohol and/or other drug use. Her PhD, completed at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (UNSW) in 2010, measured the burden from alcohol use on emergency departments in rural areas of Australia, and identified, implemented and evaluated a strategy for reducing this burden.

She is currently a team investigator on the Outcomes, Services, Policy for the Reproductive and Early Years (OSPREY) NHMRC capacity building program, in which she is focusing on smoking during pregnancy and the associated health service use for mothers and babies. She is also undertaking an NHMRC funded postdoctoral research fellowship in which she will use data from the 45 and Up Study linked to health services data to quantify smoking attributable burden among high risk subgroups of the Australian population.

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Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise

  • Epidemiology
  • Health services research
  • Health inequalities
  • Substance use
  • Substance use and co-morbid mental health problems

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Grants / Current Projects

Havard, A. The health impact of smoking in subgroups of Australians, NHMRC Training Fellowship, 2011 ($290,032)

Teesson, M, Vogl, L, Swift, W, Andrews, G, McKetin, R, Havard, A, Dillon, P, Steadman, B, Newton, N. CLIMATE Schools: Psychostimulants and Cannabis Module: The development and evaluation of an interactive computer based prevention program for psychostimulants and cannabis. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2006 ($250,046)

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Awards and Recognition

UNSW Faculty of Medicine Dean’s List, 2009
UNSW Postgraduate Research Support Scheme Travel Award, 2009
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre PhD scholarship, 2007

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Selected Publications

Calabria B, Shakeshaft A, Havard A. A systematic and methodological review of interventions for young people experiencing alcohol-related harm. Addiction; published online 3 March 2011, DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03418.x.

Havard, A, Shakeshaft, A, Conigrave, K, Sanson-Fisher, R (2010). The prevalence and characteristics of alcohol-related presentations to emergency departments in rural Australia. Emergency Medicine Journal 2011; 28: 290-295.

Darke, S, Mills, K, Teesson, M, Ross, J, Williamson, A, Havard, A. Patterns of major depression and drug-related problems amongst heroin users across 36 months. Psychiatry Research 2009; 166: 7-14.

Webb, G, Shakeshaft A, Sanson-Fisher, R, Havard, A. A systematic review of workplace interventions for alcohol-related problems. Addiction 2009; 104: 365-377.

Havard, A, Shakeshaft, A, Sanson-Fisher, R. Systematic review and meta-analyses of strategies targeting alcohol problems in emergency departments: interventions reduce alcohol-related injuries. Addiction 2008; 103: 368-376.

Darke, S, Havard, A, Ross, J, Williamson, A, Mills, K, Teesson, M. Changes in the use of medical services and prescription drugs amongst heroin users over two years. Drug and Alcohol Review 2007; 26: 153-159.

Havard, A, Teesson, M, Darke, S, Ross, J. Depression among heroin users: 12 month outcomes from the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS). Journal of Substance Abuse and Treatment 2006; 30: 335-362.

Shanahan, M, Havard, A, Mills, K, Williamson, A, Teesson, M, Ross, J. Patterns and costs of treatment for heroin dependence over 12 months: findings from the Australian Treatment Outcome Study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 2006; 30, 205-11.

Teesson, M, Havard, A, Ross, J, Darke, S. Outcomes after detoxification for heroin dependence: Findings from the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS). Drug and Alcohol Review 2006; 25: 241-247.

Teesson, M, Havard, A, Fairbairn, S, Ross, J, Lynskey, M, Darke, S. Depression among entrants to treatment for heroin dependence in the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS): prevalence, correlates and treatment seeking. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2005; 78: 309-315.

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Professional Activities

 

  • Doctoral supervisor, School of Medicine, UWS
  • Guest lecturer, School of Computing & Mathematics, UWS
  • Peer referee for NHMRC project grants
  • Peer referee for multiple international journals in the alcohol and other drug field
  • Member of the UWS Health Services and Outcomes Research Group
  • Member of the Health Data Linkage interest group

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