1970s – mid 1980s
In the early 1970s the WA Hospital Morbidity Data System (HMDS) was developed to collate hospital admission data, which used the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Deaths (ICD), to classify and code the principal and underlying conditions associated with an episode of inpatient treatment at a hospital.
From 1971 to 1978 ICD-8 was used and in 1979 the Ninth Revision, ICD-9, was implemented. This data had a number of important uses over and beyond patient care, such as the quantification of the costs of hospital care and improvements in allocation of scarce resources.
Click here to view or download an early report, Inpatient hospital morbidity in Western Australia 1971 to 1981, which outlines the development of the HMDS and contains an analysis of the inpatient hospital data for WA for the period. [2.4MB]
HMDS data also provided an indicator of health-related harm by quantifying the direct impact from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on health and well-being and to also identify indirect causes of hospitalisation, such as the contribution of alcohol to accidents and injuries.
Mid 1980s – mid 1990s
A range of occasional papers and research studies were supported by the WA Drug Data Collection Unit (WADDCU), which was federally funded part of the arrangements established under the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) for cross-jurisdictional policy development, research, funding and reporting.
The establishment of a national system to collect and analyse statistical data and to provide government with reliable information concerning the use of alcohol and other drugs was an outcome from the Special Premiers’ Conference on Drugs held in Canberra in April 1985. This was convened by then Prime Minister Bob Hawke and resulted in the establishment of the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA), renamed the National Drug Strategy (NDS) in 1993.
Click here for the Communique of the Special Premiers’ Conference.
The WADDCU was located in the Epidemiology Branch of the Health Department of WA and subsequently absorbed after defunding as part of the Epidemiology Branch in June 1994.
A series of occasional papers were produced and published by the Task Force on Drug Abuse (TFDA) (1996 – 1997), the WA Drug Abuse Strategy Office (WADASO) (July 1997 – June 2002) and the Drug and Alcohol Office (DAO), which had commenced in July 2002. In aggregate a total of 11 reports and papers were published between 2000 and 2003.
Swensen G, Westlund G & Baker MR (1992)
Sales of needles & syringes in WA: the SS5 Pack Project 1987-1990.
Perth, Health Services Statistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia. [61k]
Swensen G (1992)
Deaths caused by alcohol use in Western Australia, 1981-1990.
Perth, Health Services Statistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia. [3.3MB]
Swensen G (1993)
Mortality attributable to drug use in Western Australia, 1981-1991.
Perth, Health Services Statistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia. [1.9MB]
Veroni M, Swensen G & Thomson N (1993)
Hospital admissions in Western Australia wholly attributable to alcohol use: 1981-1990. Perth, Health Services Statistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia.
Unwin E, Swensen G, Moroz P & Thomson N (1994)
Hospitalisation due to alcohol caused injuries in Western Australia, 1981-1992.
Perth, Health Services Statistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia.
Swensen G & Unwin E (1994)
A study of hospitalisation and mortality due to alcohol use in the Kimberley Health Region of Western Australia, 1988-1992.
Perth, Health Services Statistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia. [355k]
Unwin, E & Serafino, S (1995)
A study of hospitalisation and mortality due to alcohol use in the Pilbara region and Western Australia, 1989 – 1993.
Perth, Epidemiology and Analytical Services, Health Department of Western Australia and WA Drug Abuse Strategy Office. [233k]
Unwin, E (1996)
Drug-caused deaths in Western Australia, 1984 – 1994.
Perth, Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia. [342k]
Unwin E, Codde E & Swensen G (1997)
Hospitalisation due to drugs other than tobacco or alcohol in Western Australia, 1991-1995.
Perth, Epidemiology and Analytical Services, Health Department of Western Australia and WA Drug Abuse Strategy Office. [538k]
Unwin E, Codde J, Swensen G & Saunders P (1997)
The impact of tobacco smoking on health in Western Australia, 1984–1995.
Perth, Epidemiology and Analytical Services, Health Department of Western Australia. [915k]
Unwin E, Codde E, Swensen G & Saunders P (1997)
Alcohol caused deaths and hospitalisation in Western Australia by Health Services. Perth, Epidemiology and Analytical Services, Health Department of Western Australia and WA Drug Abuse Strategy Office. [444k]
Unwin E & Codde, J (1998)
Comparison of deaths due to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Western Australia and Australia.
Perth, Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia. [96k]
Unwin, E, Codde, J P & Bartu, A (2004)
The impact of alcohol on the health of West Australians.
Perth, Epidemiology Branch, Health Department of Western Australia. [205k]
Ian Jacobs (2000)
Management of pre-hospital opiate overdoses in Perth, Western Australia
[53k]
Sharon Hillman, Sven Silburn, Andria Green & Stephen Zubrick (2000)
Youth suicide in Western Australia involving cannabis and other drugs
[364k]
Eleanor Costello (2001)
The Drug Aware psychostimulants campaign: How to develop a campaign aimed at preventing the use of ‘Party drugs’ [207k]
Greg Swensen (2001)
Indicators of drug abuse in Western Australia 1998. [5.6MB]
Greg Swensen (2001)
Indicators of drug abuse: Australia vs other countries. [329k]
Greg Swensen (2001)
Use of illicit drugs: West Australian adults, 1998. [467k]
Giulietta Valuri, David Indermaur & Anna Ferrante (2002)
The criminal careers of drug offenders in Western Australia: A study of the recidivism & criminal history of those arrested for a drug offence in Western Australia between 1989 & 1999. [807k]
Greg Swensen, Colin Pridiss & Gil Wilson (2003)
Police drug seizures and drug purity narratives, Western Australia, 2002. [2.4MB]
Greg Swensen (2003)
Cannabis related deaths in Western Australia, 1997 – 2001. [74k]
Greg Swensen & Liz Unwin (2003)
Volatile substance related deaths in Western Australia, 1997 – 2001. [56k]
Greg Swensen (2002)
Alcohol related harm in Western Australia. [1.4MB]