Acknowledgment of country

The Vital Voices team acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands throughout Australia on which the research behind this website was conducted. We acknowledge their continuing connection to lands, waters and culture, and value their unique contribution to the wider Australian society.

Team & Thanks

This website is based on qualitative research conducted in Australia by researchers from La Trobe University’s Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) in collaboration with the University of New South Wales’s Centre for Social Research in Health, and other partners. The research was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant (DP200100075)

Researchers

Project Investigators

Adjunct Professor Suzanne Fraser Suzanne was Principal Chief Investigator for the project and oversaw the research on which this website is based. She guided the development of research materials, oversaw participant recruitment and interviewing, led the analysis and write-up of results, guided the preparation of website content and supervised the project staff.

Professor Carla Treloar Carla was a Chief Investigator on the project. She provided input into the development of research and website materials, contributed to identifying key topics for the website, and contributed to data analysis and preparation of publications.

Adjunct Professor David Moore David was a Chief Investigator on the project. He provided input into the development of research and website materials, advised on participant recruitment and interviewing, and contributed to analysis and the write-up of results.

Dr Michael Edwards is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and specialises in substance use and in psychoanalysis. Michael was a Partner Investigator on the project and advised on specific methodological aspects of the study, contributed to analysis and write-up of results, and advised on the development of website materials.

Ms Elizabeth Birbilis is Senior Policy Advisor in the Sexual Health and Viral Hepatitis team at the Victorian Department of Health. Elizabeth was a Partner Investigator on the project and advised on specific aspects of the study, contributed to analysis and write-up of results, and advised on the development of website materials.

Project Staff

Dr Adrian Farrugia Adrian coordinated the project, conducted interviews and data analysis, and led the writing of the topics and stories for this website.

Dr Renae Fomiatti Renae provided research assistance and administrative support to the project including conducting interviews, data analysis and preparing website content.

Advisory panel

Dr Susan Carruthers
Evaluation and Community Development Officer, Peer Based Harm Reduction WA, Western Australia, Australia

Dr Nico Clark
Medical Director, North Richmond Community Health Medically Supervised Injecting Room, Victoria, Australia

Mr Sione Crawford
Chief Executive Officer, Harm Reduction Victoria, Victoria, Australia

Mr Steven Drew
Chief Executive Officer, Hepatitis NSW, New South Wales, Australia

Ms Kay Dufty
Health Promotion Project Officer, LiverWELL/Hepatitis Victoria, Victoria, Australia

Ms Melanie Eagle
Chief Executive Officer, LiverWELL/Hepatitis Victoria, Victoria, Australia

Ms Carrie Fowlie
Chief Executive Officer, Hepatitis Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Dr Marianne Martinello
Infectious Diseases Physician at the Prince of Wales Hospital and St Vincent’s Correctional Health and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program, Kirby Institute, New South Wales, Australia

Mr Piergiorgio Moro
Programs and Projects Coordinator, Multicultural Health and Support Service, Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health, Victoria, Australia

Mr Sonam Paljor
Senior Media and Digital Communications Officer, Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service, New South Wales, Australia

Ms Bianca Prain
Manager, Hepatitis Programs, Centre for Population Health, NSW Government, New South Wales, Australia

Ms Kerry Walker
Aboriginal Project Officer, Education and Development, Hepatitis NSW, New South Wales, Australia

Thanks

Sincere thanks to the people who took part in this research for generously sharing their stories.

The website includes video re-enactments of selected quotes from the interviews with 15 of the research participants. It also includes original audio recordings of selected quotes from interviews with 12 of the research participants. Choice of material presented in audio and video formats was limited by audio quality and by the forms of consent participants gave to how their interview material could be presented on the website.

Thanks also go to:

Bernie Hobbs, who introduced this website
The members of the advisory panel for their valuable input, including advice on the topics featured on this website and recruitment of participants

The many people and organisations who assisted with participant recruitment, including colleagues and friends: Access Health; ACON; Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO); Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council; Australia India Society of Victoria; Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS); Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association; Blood Borne Virus Sector Development Program; Carrington Health; Central and Eastern Sydney PHN; Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health; Clinic 36; cohealth; David O’Keeffe; Dean Murphy; Gastroenterological Society of Australia; Greg Dore; Dr Gurdip Aurora; Haemophilia Foundation Australia; Harm Reduction Victoria; Hepatitis Australia; Hepatitis NSW; Hepatitis Victoria; Indian Link; Jane Dicka; Judy Gold; Kathleen Desmyth; Kerry Walker; Kobi Clinic; Living Positive Victoria; Matthew Talbot Hostel; North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR); Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health; Murray PHN; North Western Melbourne PHN; Northern Region Indian Seniors Association (Vic.) Inc.; Northern Sydney PHN; Peter Higgs; Peter Waples-Crowe; Positive Life NSW; Prahran Clinic; Rankin Court; Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC); Sione Crawford; Taylor Square Private Clinic; The Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Melbourne); VACRO; Veterans 360 Australia Facebook group; Youth Projects; Zoe Belle Gender Collective; 3ZZZ radio
Emily Lenton, who conducted some of the interviews, and Aly Hiles, who transcribed them
John Jacobs, for audio and video clip production and assistance with the video re-enactments
Leading Hand Design, who designed and built the website

Video re-enactment cast

We thank the actors, represented by Real People or Epic Talent Management, who played the roles listed below:

Participant	Actor
Amelia	Belinda Fellows
Cal	Chris Castles
Carol	Savita Bungay
Chris	Stephen Oakes
Dave	Bob Garbett
Gretchen	Carolyne Lee
Harriet	Steph Summers
Julia	Genevieve Maguire
Mem	Valentine Fedi
Miguel	Daniel Garcia
Giovanna	Josephine Eberhard
Paulie	Dale Crawford
Rashida	Sahar Aref
Ricky	Glenn Pellegrin
Scott	Theo Selemidis

Disclosure statements

Carla Treloar has received research grant funding from Merck Healthcare Pty Ltd and Indivior Pty Ltd. She has also received speaker fees from AbbVie Inc and Gilead Sciences, Inc.

NOTE: Vital voices: Personal stories of treatment for hepatitis C uses a similar presentation format to another website, Livesofsubstance.org, which was produced in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia, with support from other collaborating parties. The initial project for Livesofsubstance.org used the ‘DIPEx’ approach to research and online resource (website) production. This approach was developed by the Medical Sociology & Health Experiences Research Group, in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford. It is used by Healthtalk Australia and other licensed members of DIPEx International. While the two websites are linked online, Vital voices: Personal stories of treatment for hepatitis C is not associated with Healthtalk Australia.