Methamphetamine Treatment Evaluation Study: MATES
About MATES
In 2006/07 over 17,000 Australians sought treatment for methamphetamine, aka ‘ice’ or ‘crystal meth’. These people received help from our existing community based drug treatment services, which include both government and non-governmental organisations who provide counselling, detoxification, residential rehabilitation and various other services.
The Methamphetamine Treatment Evaluation Study (MATES) will determine whether these existing drug treatment services work for methamphetamine use. It is the first such study in Australia or internationally, and it involves tracking a large cohort of methamphetamine users who have received treatment to see whether they reduce their drug use and have fewer health problems. The study also includes a ‘non-treatment’ comparison group of dependent methamphetamine users.
MATES has a strong focus on mental health issues that tend to co-occur with methamphetamine dependence, including depression, anxiety and psychosis. We are looking at how many methamphetamine users have these problems when they come to treatment, whether it affects how well they respond to treatment, and to what extent these problems go away when someone stops using methamphetamine.
What we hope to find
MATES will tell us whether our existing drug treatment services can effectively treat methamphetamine use. We will also find out how many people seeking treatment for methamphetamine use have psychiatric problems, like psychosis, anxiety or depression, whether these psychiatric problems impact on treatment outcomes, and conversely, to what extent they go away after drug treatment.
Who are the MATES cohort?
The MATES cohort consists of 400 people entering drug treatment for methamphetamine use in the Sydney and Brisbane regions. It also includes a comparison group of 101 dependent methamphetamine users who were recruited from non-treatment health services.
Looking at the MATES cohort over time
The MATES cohort was recruited from 2006 through 2007. We have re-interviewed people in the cohort at 3 and 12 months after they started drug treatment, and we are currently re-contacting them for a 3 year assessment to examine longer-term treatment outcomes.
What treatments are included?
MATES evaluates treatment as it is being provided within the community, rather than controlling the type of treatment provided. There are 40 treatment agencies participating in the study. These include non-government and government drug treatment services which are located in the broader Sydney region (including the Central Coast and the Illawarra regions), Brisbane and the Gold Coast. We document the type of treatment being provided by each service (counselling, withdrawal management or residential rehabilitation), how long people stay in treatment, whether they finish treatment, and whether they receive counselling and/or medication as part of the treatment.
What do we measure?
MATES measures drug use and various aspects of the participant’s well-being, including psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety and psychosis), living circumstances (e.g., employment, income, housing), disability due to poor health, psychological distress, crime and contact with health services.
Who funds the MATES cohort?
MATES is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (Project Grant ID 350974) with supplementary funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
The research team
MATES is being conducted by NDARC, UNSW, in collaboration with academics from Universities around Australia and 40 drug and alcohol treatment services.
Investigators:
Dr. Rebecca McKetin, NDARC, UNSW
Prof. Jake Najman, University of Queensland
Prof. Richard Mattick, NDARC, UNSW
Prof. Robert Ali, University of Adelaide,
Dr. Joanne Ross, NDARC, UNSW
Prof. Amanda Baker, University of Newcastle
Dr. Dan Lubman, ORYGEN, University of Melbourne,
Dr. Nicole Lee, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre
Prof. Sharon Dawe, Griffith University
Dr. Abdullah Mamun, University of Queensland
Research team: Shelley Cogger, Kate Hetherington, Grace Ho, Erin Kelly, Cathie Sammut, Sagari Sarkar, Rachel Sutherland, Miriam Wyzenbeek
Information for participants
If you are participating in MATES and you would like to get in touch with our team please phone Rachel on 02 93850177 or 0423827273. Our interviews are now being done by phone. You can download the participant information sheet here.