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About this webinar:

This webinar brings together data from a series of studies which explore co occurring mental distress and alcohol and other drug use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Drawing on global and Australian literature, national survey data, and emerging qualitative analyses, this webinar highlights the scope, patterns, and factors associated with co occurring conditions, as well as critical gaps in culturally informed research and treatment evidence.

About the speaker:

Dr Breanne Hobden (PhD, BPsych [Hons I]) is a behavioural scientist and Postdoctoral Researcher whose research has focused on health services, mental health and substance use, particularly among priority and underserved populations. She completed her PhD in 2018, supported by the Ian Scott Mental Health Scholarship from Australian Rotary Health, and was subsequently awarded a competitive Colin Dodds Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Dr Hobden has published 58 peer reviewed journal articles and one book chapter. She has obtained over $5.7 million in competitive research funding, including grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), and the National Heart Foundation. She currently leads and contributes to several large-scale, multidisciplinary projects, including an MRFF Early- to Mid-Career Researcher grant examining the social determinants of young people’s mental health, and an MRFF-funded program to develop a model of care for individuals experiencing traumatic brain injury associated with domestic and family violence.

Her research has made important contributions to the understanding of co occurring mental health and substance use conditions, including some of the first comprehensive Australian studies examining comorbid alcohol misuse and depression across general practice and specialist alcohol and other drug treatment settings. Internationally, Dr Hobden has collaborated with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (USA), undertaking analyses of clinical cohort of more than 700 inpatients seeking treatment for alcohol dependence. Her work has been cited in national and international evidence syntheses and clinical guidance, including by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health.

More recently, Dr Hobden has led analyses of national survey data, including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, to examine co occurring psychological distress and alcohol and other drug use among more than 10,000 individuals. Her work is underpinned by a commitment to strengthening culturally safe, evidence-informed approaches to equitable healthcare, and to addressing the social and structural determinants that shape health and wellbeing.