Are you a gay or bisexual man who has experience of using crystal methamphetamine?

The Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH) is producing a series of podcasts, in partnership with ACON, Thorne Harbour Health, South Australia Mobilisation + Empowerment for Sexual Health (SAMESH) and the Western Australian AIDS Council (WAAC), exploring crystal methamphetamine use among gay and bisexual men with the aim of distilling information and promoting a conversation about this issue.

They are looking for people to be a part of this new podcast series – seeking people to speak about their personal and professional experiences around three key areas:

1. Some of the innovative strategies men collectively use to manage their crystal use;

2. The support needs of those people who support others using crystal; and

3. Workforce development at the intersection of health promotion and harm reduction.

These podcasts will be produced as part of the Crystal, Pleasures and Sex between Men, a NHMRC-funded and WA Health-funded project. This project looked at gay and bisexual men’s crystal methamphetamine use across four cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth – with the aim of improving our understanding about how gay and bisexual men experience crystal, especially in relation to sex, and how services can better meet their needs.

Podcasts provide a multi-platform opportunity to disseminate health promotion and harm reduction strategies through conveying personal stories that privilege people’s experiential knowledge. This is a unique opportunity to share our research findings in a relevant and accessible way.

If you are interested in participating, some important things to note:

• Participating is by way of a loosely-scripted ‘conversation-style’ between the host and yourself, to take place in our recording studio (or, if not possible, we may conduct this via audio-visual software).
• While we are interested in your particular interests, for the purposes of producing a coherent and cohesive final product, you may be directed or prompted over parts of your responses, or to re-record any aspects over the course of the session.
• You will have an opportunity during the recording session(s) to re-record or omit any responses given to questions that you aren’t comfortable with (e.g. identifying information, etc). You can also contact us to retract any responses or ask for an omission of particular information recorded within seven days of the recording session.
• Conversation will be based around an anonymised excerpt from our data from each of the three aforementioned themes that will be pre-recorded by a voice actor. You will be provided with a copy of the data excerpt(s) prior to recording and some initial thought-starter questions to help you prepare ahead of the recording.
• You will be required to sign an agreement that CSRH can use your audio recorded conversation between yourself and the host.
• Material from these podcasts may also serve as the basis for resource and information guides.
• The audio recording of your voice will be used in the final edit of the podcast. You may use a pseudonym, if you wish, but there is a possibility that you may be identified via your voice.
• A speaker’s fee will be offered to community members.

If you have any questions, contact Dr Kerryn Drysdale, from the Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW Sydney on (02) 9385 6412 or at k.drysdale@unsw.edu.au.

Source: WA AIDS Council