Background

Peter has a background in community development and has worked with marginalised populations for over 20 years in Melbourne, Sydney, Vietnam, Indonesia and China.

His field based research has been focused on risk and people who inject drugs. Peter is teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students in Public Health at La Trobe University. He maintains involvement in various studies of cohorts of injecting drug users in Melbourne.

Appointments

• Adjunct Research Fellow, Department of EPM, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
• Adjunct Research Fellow, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University

Positions

• Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University

Qualifications

• BSW, University of New South Wales, Australia
• MA, Victoria University, Australia
• PhD, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Projects (10)

Current (9)

• Attitudes to drug use among East African migrants in Melbourne’s western suburbs
  This project aims to explore alcohol and drug use among marginalised young African migrants.
• CREIDU: Centre for Research Excellence into Injecting Drug Use
  Improving the health of PWID through new research to inform public health policy and practice.
• EC Partnership: Eliminate Hepatitis C Partnership
  Informing the elimination of HCV through a community-based nurse-led model of care and treatment.
• Hepatitis C and injecting networks
  Understanding the transmission of hepatitis C in a social network of young people who inject drugs.
• OST Surveillance Study
  Ongoing surveillance of the diversion and injection of the medications used in opioid substitution treatment.
• Social Networks and the Hepatitis C Virus
  The Networks study aims to produce a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of IDU networks to see if they can be altered to reduce HCV entry and spread.
• SuperMIX: The Melbourne Injecting Drug User Cohort Study
  A five-year study of the dynamics of cessation of injecting drug use and any subsequent relapse.
• The B-VAX Project: Hep B vaccinations for people who inject drugs
  Using assertive outreach to provide hep B vaccinations for people who inject drugs.
• The oral health of people who inject drugs (PWID)
  The project examines the predictors of dental care service utilisation and Oral Health-related Quality of Life in people who inject drugs.

Past (1)

• Investigating the limitations with the snowball model in context of the TAP study
  A study into the limitations of a clinical trial of DAA treatments for people who inject drugs.

Publications (88)

2019 (2)

• Five-year Changes in Methamphetamine Use, Dependence, and Remission in a Community-recruited Cohort.
  Lanyon C, Nambiar D, Higgs P, Dietze P, Quinn B
  J Addict Med. 2019 Jan; Epub ahead of print
• Improving hepatitis C direct-acting antiviral access and uptake: a role for patient-reported outcomes and lived-experience.
  Goutzamanis S, Doyle J, Higgs P, Hellard M
  J Viral Hepat. 2019 Jan; Epub ahead of print

2018 (8)

• Blood-borne virus transmission in an urban, culturally diverse neighbourhood: results from a cross-sectional bio-behavioural survey using innovative outreach methods in a hard-to-reach population.
  Peach E, Cogger S, Byron K, Francis P, O'Keefe D, Higgs P, Stoove M, Elmore K, Dietze P, Hellard M
  Sex health. 2018 Oct; 15(1):54-60
• Achieving a hepatitis C cure: a qualitative exploration of the experiences and meanings of achieving a hepatitis C cure using the direct acting antivirals in Australia.
  Richmond JA, Ellard J, Wallace J, Thorpe R, Higgs P, Hellard M, Thompson A
  Hepatol Med Policy. 2018 Aug; 3:8
• Community-based provision of direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C: study protocol and challenges of a randomized controlled trial.
  Wade AJ, Doyle JS, Gane E, Stedman C, Draper B, Iser D, Roberts SK, Kemp W, Petrie D, Scott N, Higgs P, Agius PA, Roney J, Stothers L, Thompson AJ, Hellard ME
  Trials. 2018 Jul; 19(1):383
• “I Lost Me Visits” A critical examination of prison drug policy and Its effects on connection to family for incarcerated young men with histories of injecting drug use.
  Walker S, Lancaster K, Stoové M, Higgs P, Wilson M
  Contemporary Drug Problems. 2018 Jun; Epub ahead of print
• 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 Infect Dis. 2018 Apr; 18(1):151
• Increasing amphetamine use and forensic involvement among clients of three residential Indigenous alcohol and other drug services in Victoria, Australia.
  Goutzamanis S, Higgs P, Richardson M, MacLean S
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2018 Mar; Epub ahead of print
• Internal funding required to improve HIV care.
  Brownstein H, Higgs P
  J Viral Hepat. 2018 Jan; 25(4):438
• Narratives of Young Men With Injecting Drug Use Histories Leaving Adult Prison.
  Walker S, Higgs P, Stoové M, Wilson M
  Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2018 Jan; ;62(12):3681-3707

2017 (7)

• Injecting drug use continues in older users too.
  Higgs P, Dietze P
  BMJ. 2017 Oct; 359:j4738
• New hepatitis C antiviral treatments eliminate the virus.
  Doyle JS, Thompson AJ, Higgs P, Stoove M, Dietze PM, Hellard ME
  Lancet. 2017 Jul; 390(10092):358-359
• "Just not all ice users do that": investigating perceptions and potential harms of Australia's Ice Destroys Lives campaign in two studies.
  Douglass CH, Early EC, Wright CJC, Palmer A, Higgs P, Quinn B, Dietze PM, Lim MSC
  Harm Reduct J. 2017 Jul; 14(1):45
• Longitudinal changes in personal wellbeing in a cohort of people who inject drugs.
  Scott N, Carrotte ER, Higgs P, Stoové MA, Aitken CK, Dietze PM
  PLoS One. 2017 May; 12(5):e0178474
• "We Might Get Some Free Beers": Experience and Motivation for Transactional Sex Among Behaviorally Bisexual Men in Vientiane, Laos.
  Bowring AL, Pasomsouk N, Hughes C, van Gemert C, Higgs P, Sychareun V, Hellard M, Power R
  Arch Sex Behav. 2017 May; 46(4):1047-1059
• 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
  Epidemiol Infect. 2017 Mar; 145(4):796-801
• The role of respect in interactions with police among substance-using African refugee young people in Melbourne, Australia
  Horyniak D, Higgs P, Cogger S, Dietze P
  J Ethn Crim Just. 2017 Feb; 15(2):185-204

2016 (7)

• Direct-acting antiviral treatment for HCV.
  Goutzamanis S, Doyle J, Thompson A, Hellard M, Higgs P
  Lancet Infect Dis. 2016 Dec; 16(12):1325-6
• Field engagement further facilitates hepatitis B vaccination completion: Letter in response to: Day et al. (in press).
  Higgs P, Doyle J, Luppi J, Dietze P, Hellard M
  J Clin Virol. 2016 Jul; 82:64-65
• The introduction of CCTV and associated changes in heroin purchase and injection settings in Footscray, Victoria, Australia.
  Scott N, Higgs P, Caulkins JP, Aitken C, Cogger S, Dietze P
  J Exp Criminol. 2016 Apr; 12(2):265-275
• Letter: new treatments for hepatitis C have implications for quality of life in people who inject drugs.
  Higgs P, Wright C, Hellard M
  Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Apr; 43(7):840-841
• Heavy alcohol consumption among marginalised African refugee young people in Melbourne, Australia: motivations for drinking, experiences of alcohol-related problems and strategies for managing drinking.
  Horyniak D, Higgs P, Cogger S, Dietze P, Bofu T
  Ethn Health. 2016 Mar; 21(3):284-299
• It stops with us: Peer responses increase availability of sterile injecting equipment.
  Higgs P, Cogger S, Kelsall J, Gavin N, Elmore K, Francis P, Dietze P
  Int J Drug Policy. 2016 Jan; 29:96-97
• Age-related differences in patterns of criminal activity among a large sample of polydrug injectors in Australia.
  Horyniak D, Dietze P, Degenhardt. L, Agius P, Higgs P, Bruno R, Alati R, Burns L
  J Subst Abuse. 2016 Jan; 22(1):48-56

2015 (9)

• 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
  Subst Use Misuse. 2015 Nov; 50(13):1650-1659
• Going tobacco free in Australian prisons – increasing tattooing harm?
  Treloar C, Baldry E, Higgs P, Dietze P, Stoové M, Lloyd A
  Int J Prisoner Health. 2015 Nov; 11(4):Viewpoint
• Behavioural research to inform understanding of hepatitis C resistance.
  Higgs P, Dwyer R, Cogger S, Hellard M, Maher L
  Lancet Infect Dis. 2015 Nov; 15(11):1260-1261
• Factors Influencing Access to Sexual Health Care Among Behaviorally Bisexual Men in Vientiane, Laos: A Qualitative Exploration.
  Bowring AL, Pasomsouk N, Higgs P, Sychareun V, Hellard M, Power R
  Asia Pac J Public Health. 2015 Nov; 27(8):820-834
• Injecting buprenorphine-naloxone film: Findings from an explorative qualitative study.
  White N, Flaherty I, Higgs P, Larance B, Nielsen S, Degenhardt L, Ali R, Lintzeris N
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2015 Jul; 34(6):623-629
• Hepatitis C transmission and treatment as prevention - The role of the injecting network.
  Hellard M, McBryde E, Sacks Davis R, Rolls DA, Higgs P, Aitken C, Thompson A, Doyle J, Pattison P, Robins G
  Int J Drug Policy. 2015 May; 26(10):958-962
• 'It’s always just there in your face’: young people’s views on porn.
  Walker S, Temple-Smith M, Higgs P, Sanci L
  Sex Health. 2015 May; 12(3):200-206
• How "Hidden" Are Unobserved Networks Among People Who Inject Drugs?
  Higgs P, Sacks-Davis R, Aitken C, Hellard M
  Am J Public Health. 2015 Apr; 105(6):e3
• Oral health-related quality of life among an Australian sample of people who inject drugs.
  Truong A, Higgs P, Cogger S, Jamieson L, Burns L, Dietze P
  J Public Health Dent. 2015 Mar; 75(3):218-24

2014 (8)

• Further research required to determine unique factors associated with dental care access among deprived populations.
  Truong A, Higgs P, Cogger S, Dietze P
  Public Health. 2014 Nov; 128(12):1131-1133
• 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
  J Ethn Subst Abuse. 2014 Oct; 13(4):405-429
• The impact of injecting networks on hepatitis C transmission and treatment in people who inject drugs.
  Hellard M, Rolls DA, Sacks-Davis R, Robins G, Pattison P, Higgs P, Aitken C, McBryde E
  Hepatology. 2014 Aug; 60(6):1861-1870
• No Drama: Key Elements to the Success of an HIV/STI-Prevention Mass-Media Campaign.
  Pedrana AE, Hellard ME, Higgs P, Asselin J, Batrouney C, Stoové M
  Qual Health Res. 2014 Apr; 24(5):695-705
• The long winding road of opioid substitution therapy implementation in South-East Asia: challenges to scale up.
  Reid G, Sharma M, Higgs P
  J Pub Health Res. 2014 Apr; 3(1):204
• Urbanisation and sexual health: Understanding bisexually active men in Hanoi, Vietnam.
  Higgs P, Reddel S, Pham HV, Khoat VD, Hellard M
  Health Psychol Behav Med. 2014 Apr; 2(1):613-622
• Does informing people who inject drugs of their hepatitis C status influence their injecting behaviour? Analysis of the Networks II study.
  Aspinall EJ, Weir A, Sacks-Davis R, Spelman T, Grebely J, Higgs P, Hutchinson SJ, Hellard ME
  Int J Drug Policy. 2014 Jan; 25(1):179-182
• Detection of HCV-Specific IFN-gamma Responses in HCV Antibody and HCV RNA Negative Injecting Drug Users.
  Flynn JK, Sacks-Davis R, Higgs P, Aitken C, Moneer S, Suppiah V, Tracy L, Ffrench R, Bowden S, Drummer H, George J, Bharadwaj M, Hellard M
  Hepat Mon. 2014 Jan; 14(1):e14678

2013 (7)

• High rates of hepatitis C virus reinfection and spontaneous clearance of reinfection in people who inject drugs: a prospective cohort study.
  Sacks-Davis R, Aitken CK, Higgs P, Spelman T, Pedrana AE, Bowden S, Bharadwaj M, Nivarthi UK, Suppiah V, George J, Grebely J, Drummer HE, Hellard M
  PLoS One. 2013 Nov; 8(11):e80216
• 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 Reduct J. 2013 Jun; 10(1):11
• The relationship between age and risky injecting behaviours among a sample of Australian people who inject drugs.
  Horyniak D, Dietze P, Degenhardt L, Higgs P, McIlwraith F, Alati R, Bruno R, Lenton S, Burns L
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013 May; 132(3):541-6
• Preventing hepatitis C virus transmission among young people in the justice system.
  Lenton E, White B, Aitken C, Hellard M, Higgs P
  Children Youth Serv Rev. 2013 May; 35(5):834-6
• 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 Alcohol Rev. 2013 Feb; 32(2):208-210
• A response to: Self-reported and actual hepatitis C virus infection status.
  O'Keefe D, Aitken C, Higgs P, Dietze P
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2013 Jan; 32(1):107
• 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
  Emerg Med J. 2013 Jan; 30(5):421-422

2012 (4)

• Injecting drug use and related health behaviours in a small case series of East African migrants in Melbourne.
  Horyniak D, Higgs P, Degenhardt L, Cogger S, Power R, Dietze P
  Aust N Z J Public Health. 2012 Dec; 36(6):586-587
• Hepatitis C virus phylogenetic clustering is associated with the social-injecting network in a cohort of people who inject drugs.
  Sacks-Davis R, Daraganova G, Aitken C, Higgs P, Tracy L, Bowden S, Jenkinson R, Rolls D, Pattison P, Robins G, Grebely J, Barry A, Hellard M
  PLoS One. 2012 Oct; 7(10):e47335
• Modelling antiviral treatment to prevent hepatitis C infection among people who inject drugs in Victoria, Australia.
  Hellard ME, Jenkinson R, Higgs P, Stoové MA, Sacks-Davis R, Gold J, Hickman M, Vickerman P, Martin NK
  Med J Aust. 2012 Jun; 196(10):638-641
• The impact of khat use on East African communities in Melbourne: A preliminary investigation.
  Feigin A, Higgs P, Hellard M, Dietze P
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2012 May; 31(3):288-293

2011 (4)

• Exploring the sexual networks of men who have sex with men and women in Hanoi, Vietnam - Summary Report
  Siobhan Reddel, Pham Hanh Van, Nguyen Van Thuy, Peter Higgs, Khoat Van Dang, Rebecca Jenkinson, Caroline Van Gemert, Chad Hughes, Margaret Hellard, Mike Toole AM
• Exploring the sexual networks of men who have sex with men and women in Hanoi, Vietnam - Final Report
  Siobhan Reddel, Pham Hanh Van, Nguyen Van Thuy, Peter Higgs, Khoat Van Dang, Rebecca Jenkinson, Caroline Van Gemert, Chad Hughes, Margaret Hellard, Mike Toole
• Barriers to receiving hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs: Myths and evidence.
  Higgs P, Sacks-Davis R, Gold J, Hellard M
  Hepat Mon. 2011 Jul; 11(7):513-518
• Vietnam moves forward with harm reduction: an assessment of progress.
  Reid G, Higgs P
  Glob Public Health. 2011 Feb; 6(2):168-180

2010 (5)

• Australians living with and managing hepatitis C.
  O'Brien AP, Cross WM, Higgs P, Munro I, Bloomer MJ, Chou KR
  Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2010 Aug; 31(8):520-524
• Further research required to determine link between khat consumption and driver impairment.
  Feigin A, Higgs P, Hellard M, Dietze P
  Bull World Health Organ. 2010 Jun; 88(6):480
• Older injectors: an emerging and under-recognised public health issue.
  Peter Higgs, Lisa Maher
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2010 May; 29(3):233-234
• Nurse led CBT program for Indigenous people.
  O'Brien A, Cross W, Higgs P, Munro I, Bloomer M
  Aust Nursing J. 2010 Mar; 17(8):35
• An evaluation of a heroin overdose prevention and education campaign.
  Horyniak D, Higgs P, Lewis J, Winter R, Dietze P, Aitken C
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2010 Jan; 29(1):5-11

2009 (4)

• Factors influencing a self-limiting HIV outbreak among ethnic Vietnamese injecting drug users in Melbourne, Australia.
  Higgs P, Yohannes K, Hellard M, Maher L
  Qual Health Res. 2009 Dec; 19(12):1690-1701
• Limits to relying on expert information: the Delphi technique in a study of ethnic Vietnamese injection drug users in Melbourne, Australia.
  Nguyen OK, Higgs PG, Hellard ME
  Soc Work Public Health. 2009 Sep; 24(5):371-379
• Heroin-gel capsule cocktails and groin injecting practices among ethnic Vietnamese in Melbourne, Australia.
  Higgs P, Dwyer R, Duong D, Thach ML, Hellard M, Power R, Maher L
  Int J Drug Policy. 2009 Jul; 20(4):340-346
• Qualitative evaluation of a peer-based needle syringe programme in Vietnam.
  Ngo AD, Schmich L, Higgs P, Fischer A
  Int J Drug Policy. 2009 Mar; 20(2):179-182

2008 (8)

• Gender, culture and harm: an exploratory study of female heroin users of Vietnamese ethnicity.
  Higgs P, Owada K, Hellard M, Power R, Maher L
  Cult Health Sex. 2008 Oct; 10(7):681-696
• Risk behaviours and blood borne virus exposure for transient workers in rural Victoria.
  Pedrana A, Aitken C, Higgs P, Hellard M
  Aust J Rural Health. 2008 Jun; 16(3):143-149
• The development of peer educator-based harm reduction programmes in Northern Vietnam.
  Walsh N, Gibbie TM, Higgs P
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2008 Mar; 27(2):200-203
• Differences in the social networks of ethnic Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese injecting drug users and their implications for blood-borne virus transmission.
  Aitken CK, Higgs P, Bowden S
  Epidemiol Infect. 2008 Mar; 136(3):410-416
• Buprenorphine injection in Melbourne, Australia - an update.
  Aitken CK, Higgs PG, Hellard ME
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2008 Mar; 27(2):197-199
• Transitions to injecting and risk of hepatitis C transmission among ethnic Vietnamese heroin smokers in Melbourne Australia
  Higgs P, Kelsall J, Nguyen QC
  Hepatitis Monthly. 2008 Feb; 8(2):115-120
• Integrating enhanced hepatitis C testing and counselling in research.
  Winter R, Nguyen O, Higgs P, Armstrong S, Duong D, Thach ML, Aitken C, Hellard M
  Int J Drug Policy. 2008 Feb; 19(1):66-70
• Selling syringes to injecting drug users: a study of five pharmacies in Hanoi, Vietnam.
  Pankonin CA, Higgs P, Reid G, Aitken C
  J Infect Dev Ctries. 2008 Feb; 2(1):51-58

2007 (2)

• Recognition of hepatitis C virus coinfection in HIV-positive injecting drug users in Asia.
  Walsh N, Higgs P, Crofts N
  J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2007 Jul; 45(3):363-365
• "Poor Man’s Smack”: “Poor Man’s Smack”: A qualitative study of buprenorphine injecting in Melbourne, Australia
  Horyniak D, Armstrong S, Higgs P, Wain D, Aitken C.
  Contemp Drug Prob. 2007 Jan; 34(3):525-548

2006 (3)

• The prevalence and risk behaviours associated with the transmission of blood-borne viruses among ethnic-Vietnamese injecting drug users.
  Hellard ME, Nguyen OK, Guy RJ, Jardine D, Mijch A, Higgs PG
  Aust N Z J Public Health. 2006 Dec; 30(6):519-525
• Engagement, reciprocity and advocacy: ethical harm reduction practice in research with injecting drug users.
  Higgs P, Moore D, Aitken C
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006 Sep; 25(5):419-423
• Was this a result you were expecting?
  Higgs P
  Sex Health. 2006 Mar; 3(1):59-60

2005 (2)

• Doing peer-based research with ethnic Vietnamese heroin users.
  Higgs P, Kelsall J
  New Community Quarterly. 2005 Jul; 3(1):24-26
• Couches vs Karaoke: Ethnic Vietnamese user views on safe injecting facilities in Melbourne Australia.
  Jordens J, Higgs P
  New Community Quarterly. 2005 Jul; 3(1):19-23

2004 (2)

• Change in hepatitis C virus genotype in injecting drug users.
  Aitken C, McCaw R, Jardine D, Bowden S, Higgs P, Nguyen O, Crofts N, Hellard M
  J Med Virol. 2004 Dec; 74(4):543-545
• Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in a social network of injection drug users.
  Aitken CK, McCaw RF, Bowden DS, Tracy SL, Kelsall JG, Higgs PG, Kerger MJ, Nguyen H, Crofts JN
  J Infect Dis. 2004 Nov; 190(9):1586-1595

2003 (1)

• Manual for reducing drug related harm in Asia, 2003 (370 pages)
  Editor - Nick Crofts, Lead Writer - Genevieve Costigan, Other Writers-Nick Crofts and Gary Reid, Cartoonist -Julie Smith
  Centre for Harm Reduction, Burnet Institute. 2003 Jan

2002 (4)

• The impact of a police crackdown on a street drug scene: evidence from the street.
  Aitken C, Moore D, Higgs P, Kelsall J, Kerger M
  Int J Drug Policy. 2002 Jul; 13(3):193.202
• Vulnerability among Vietnamese illicit drug users in Australia: challenges for change.
  Reid G, Higgs P, Beyer L, Crofts N
  Int J Drug Policy. 2002 Jul; 13(2):127-136
• HIV among injecting drug users of Indo-Chinese ethnicity in Victoria.
  Hocking JS, Higgs PG, Keenan CM, Crofts N
  Med J Aust. 2002 Feb; 176(4):191-192
• Severe vein damage caused by Temezepam injecting.
  Aitken CK, Higgs P
  Aust N Z J Public Health. 2002 Feb; 26(1):79

2001 (1)

• Harm reduction and drug users of Vietnamese ethnicity
  Higgs P, Maher L, Jordens J, Dunlop A, Sargent P
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2001 Feb; 20(2):239-245

News Articles (11)

2018 (2)

• New medication for 'ice' on trial
• Vale Jenny Kelsall

2017 (5)

• Burnet welcomes trial of safe injecting facility
• Saving Lives and SIF: Aaron’s story
• Older drug injectors require attention too
• Burnet World Hepatitis Day Symposium
• The case for new hepatitis C treatments

2016 (3)

• Hep C: Elimination is the Goal
• NHMRC grant to assist hepatitis C research
• Study queries CCTV as drug deal deterrent

2013 (1)

• Reaching Out: Working with Melbourne’s most vulnerable