Date: 12 Sept 2019

Time: 6pm for 6.30 pm start of meeting

Chemsex is defined as “the use of any combination of drugs including crystal methamphetamine, mephedrone, and/or gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), before or during sex by men who have sex with men (MSM)”. In May 2018, according to London data published in HIV Medicine, Gay and bisexual men who reported engaging in chemsex were five times more likely to be newly diagnosed with HIV, nine times more likely to be diagnosed with hepatitis C and four times more likely to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection during a 13-month follow-up period. Based on recent Australian data, up to 20% of MSM engage in chemsex regularly. The risks to health are not only of infection by STI/HIV/Hepatitis Virus but also of substance abuse, impacting on all aspects of life for those affected. Join us as we hear about the Qld Chemsex Study and learn to provide better informed and higher quality care to this population.

Speaker Bios

Dr Amy Mullins
FAPS Associate Professor School of Psychology & Counselling, University of Southern Queensland

Associate Professor Amy Mullens, Msc, PhD, is an Associate Professor at USQ, School of Psychology and Counselling and Centre for Health Research. She is a Clinical and Health Psychologist (working in Queensland since 2001), and has worked across public, private, academic and community settings spanning the past two decades. Amy completed her Clinical Psychology Master’s degree (Behavioural Medicine) in USA in 2001; and later completed a PhD in Psychology at QUT in 2011. She has worked extensively with the members of the gay/MSM community through over a decade of work at the Sexual Health & HIV Service at Biala.

Amy’s work has focussed on supporting people from priority groups/communities (e.g., migrants, LGBTIQ+, incarcerated people), and health professionals regarding management of chronic health conditions (prevention, screening management), health behaviour change, mental health, substance use, and sexual health (including gender, sexuality, HIV/STIs). She also works in clinical practice in Ipswich and runs a consulting business providing clinical supervision for other psychologists. To date, Amy has co-authored more than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and a book chapter in the areas of clinical and health psychology (total citations =650).

Dr Mark O’Reilly
FRACGP, Sexual Health Physician (Trainee), Director Prahran Market Clinic

Dr Mark O’Reilly is a high caseload HIV specialist GP and Director at Prahran Market Clinic in Melbourne and also works as a clinical advisor at the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM). He has worked in HIV, viral hepatitis and sexual health medicine for over a decade in both Sydney and Melbourne. Current interests include HIV treatment and prevention, HIV clinical trials, STI treatment and prevention and managing problems associated with sexualised drug use.

How to provide better-informed and higher-quality health care to this population

• A general practice approach to people who use chemsex, harm minimisation including monitoring, support and resources for cessation of chemsex use,
• Harm reduction – PrEP, Condoms, NSP, emergency care
• Short term interventions – safer use, reduction of use
• Long term interventions – rehabilitation, cessation, abstinence/remission