Summary: Lives of Substance is a website that provides personal stories of alcohol and other drug (AOD) addiction, or habit. The website aims to support those who use drugs while also giving others such friends and family, health professionals and policy makers a greater insight into their experiences.
The Messages for Health Professionals & Policymakers section of the website focuses on people’s experiences of AOD and allied health services and their suggestions for how these services could be improved.
The stories featured on the site are drawn from in-depth qualitative interviews with 60 residents of Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Stories are presented in the form of written extracts, original voice recordings and video re-enactments.
Developers: Lives of Substance is based on qualitative research conducted by researchers from Curtin University’s National Drug Research Institute (NDRI), in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia, Monash University and the University of New South Wales Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH).
Costs: Free
Year: 2016
Evidence base: This resource has been evaluated in one peer-reviewed publication (see below).