Dr Michael Curtis

Photo of Michael Curtis

Dr Michael Curtis joined the NDRI Melbourne office in November 2022. He obtained his PhD in March 2023, completed at Monash University and the Burnet Institute, which examined the impact of retention in opioid agonist treatment on substance use, health and health service use among men recently released from prison. He is also a postdoctoral Research Officer at the Burnet Institute, where he began his research career in 2014. He has published more than 20 articles, using longitudinal survey and linked administrative data to improve the health and well-being of marginalised groups, with a particular focus on people in prison and people who inject drugs. Prior to joining Burnet, he worked as a social worker in adult intensive case management, homelessness, and youth out-of-home care.

  • PhD, Monash University
  • BA/BSW (Hon), Monash University
  • Injecting drug use
  • Prisons
  • Opioid use disorder
  • Opioid agonist treatment
  • Harm reduction strategies
  • Overdose
  • Epidemiology

Walker, S., Curtis, M., Kirwan, A., Thatcher, R. and Dietze, P. (2024). "No-one just does drugs during business hours!": evaluation of a 24/7 primary needle and syringe program in St Kilda, Australia. Harm Reduction Journal, 21. doi:10.1186/s12954-024-00960-9 [RJ2146] View web page

Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Wilkinson, A., Agius, P., Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Butler, T., Walker, S., Kirwan, A., Winter, R. and Stoove, M., A. (2023). Discontinuation of opioid agonist treatment following release from prison in a cohort of men who injected drugs prior to imprisonment in Victoria, Australia: A discrete-time survival analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 242. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109730 [RJ2003] View web page

Curtis, M., Wilkinson, A., Dietze, P., Stewart, A., Kinner, S., A., Cossar, R., Nehme, E., Aitken, C., Walker, S., Butler, T., Winter, R. and Smith, K. (2023). Prospective study of retention in opioid agonist treatment and contact with emergency healthcare following release from prisons in Victoria, Australia. Emergency Medicine Journal. doi:10.1136/emermed-2022-212755 [RJ2026] View web page

Curtis, M., Wilkinson, A., Dietze, P., Stewart, A., Kinner, S., A., Winter, R., Campbell, A., Walker, S., Cossar, R., Butler, T. and Stoove, M., A. (2023). Is use of opioid agonist treatment associated with broader primary healthcare use among men with recent injecting drug use histories following release from prison? A prospective cohort study. Harm Reduction Journal, 20, (1). doi:10.1186/s12954-023-00773-2 [RJ2042] View web page

Dietze, P., Stewart, A., Hill, P., L., Draper, B., Curtis, M. and Kirwan, A. (2023). The National Naloxone Reference Group: A collective voice on take-home naloxone policy and practice in Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review. doi:10.1111/dar.13771 [RJ2119] View web page

Cossar, R., Stewart, A., Wilkinson, A., Dietze, P., Ogloff, J., R., Aitken, C., Butler, T., Kinner, S., A., Curtis, M., Walker, S., Kirwan, A. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). Emergency department presentations in the first weeks following release from prison among men with a history of injecting drug use in Victoria, Australia: A prospective cohort study. International Journal of Drug Policy, 101. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103532 [RJ1837] View web page

Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Winter, R., Rathnayake, K., Smith, K. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). Incidence of non-fatal opioid overdose following release from Victorian prisons among men who injected drugs: a prospective data-linkage study. Medical Journal of Australia. doi:10.5694/mja2.51774 [RJ1983] View web page

Curtis, M., Winter, R., Dietze, P., Wilkinson, A., Cossar, R., Stewart, A., Agius, P., Butler, T., Aitken, C., Kirwan, A., Walker, S. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). High rates of resumption of injecting drug use following release from prison among men who injected drugs before imprisonment. Addiction. doi:10.1111/add.15971 [RJ1909] View web page

Kirwan, A., Winter, R., Gunn, J., Djordjevic, F., Curtis, M., Gough, C. and Dietze, P. (2022). The feasibility of a drug consumption room in the Australian Capital Territory. Drug and Alcohol Review, 41, (6), pp. 1440-1443. doi:10.1111/dar.13427 [RJ1861] View web page

Walker, S., Curtis, M., Woods, E., Pierce, L., Kirwan, A., Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Winter, R., Dietze, P., Kinner, S., A., Ogloff, J., R., Butler, T. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). Reflections on the in-prison recruitment and participation of men with a history of injecting drug use, in a longitudinal cohort study in Australia. Journal of Criminology, 55, (4), pp. 586-603. doi:10.1177/26338076221127047 [RJ1971] View web page

Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Walker, S., Wilkinson, A., Quinn, B., Dietze, P., Winter, R., Kirwan, A., Curtis, M., Ogloff, J., R., Kinner, S., A., Aitken, C., Butler, T., Woods, E. and Stoove, M., A. (2021). Strategies to maximise study retention and limit attrition bias in a prospective cohort study of men reporting a history of injecting drug use released from prison: the prison and transition health study. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21, (1). doi:10.1186/s12874-021-01380-0 [RJ1790] View web page

Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Wilkinson, A., Quinn, B., Dietze, P., Walker, S., Butler, T., Curtis, M., Aitken, C., Kirwan, A., Winter, R., Ogloff, J., R., Kinner, S., A. and Stoove, M., A. (2021). The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) cohort study: Prevalence of health, social, and crime characteristics after release from prison for men reporting a history of injecting drug use in Victoria, Australia. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 227. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108970 [RJ1787] View web page

Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Wilkinson, A., Scott, N., Dietze, P., Quinn, B., Kinner, S., A., Aitken, C., Walker, S., Curtis, M., Butler, T., Ogloff, J., R. and Stoove, M., A. (2021). Psychiatric well-being among men leaving prison reporting a history of injecting drug use: A longitudinal analysis. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. doi:10.1177/00048674211048143 [RJ1814] View web page

Kirwan, A., Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Aitken, C., Woods, E., Walker, S., Kinner, S., A., Ogloff, J., R., Butler, T. and Stoove, M., A. (2019). The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) cohort study: Study protocol and baseline characteristics of a cohort of men with a history of injecting drug use leaving prison in Australia. Journal of Urban Health, 96, (3), pp. 400-410. doi:10.1007/s11524-019-00353-5 [RJ1511] View web page

Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Winter, R., Rathnayake, K., Smith, K. and Stoove, M., A. (2023). Non-fatal opioid overdose after release from prison among men who injected drugs prior to their imprisonment: a prospective data linkage study. Medical Journal of Australia, 218, (2), pp. 94-95. doi:10.5694/mja2.51774 [RJ] View web page

Harney, B., Curtis, M. and Higgs, P. (2023). Infectious syphilis in women and heterosexual men in major Australian cities: sentinel surveillance data, 2011–2019. Medical Journal of Australia, 218, (11), pp. 543. doi:10.5694/mja2.51943 [RJ] View web page

Curtis, M., Berk, J., Larney, S., Rich, J. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). Switching of opioid agonist treatment modality during imprisonment: A novel marker for increased support need during and following release from prison. International Journal of Drug Policy, 100. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103572 [RJ] View web page

Dawe, J., Wilkinson, A., Asselin, J., Carter, A., Pedrana, A., Traeger, M., W., Thomas, A., J., Curtis, M., Cooper, M., Howell, J., Doyle, J., S., Hellard, M. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). Hepatitis C antibody testing among opioid agonist therapy recipients, Victoria, Australia, 2012 to 2020. International Journal of Drug Policy, 104. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103696 [RJ] View web page

Cossar, R., Stewart, A., Winter, R., Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Ogloff, J., R. and Stoove, M., A. (2020). Integrating episodes of imprisonment and the cascade of care for opioid use disorder. Addiction, 116, pp. 427-428. doi:10.1111/add.15245 [RJ] View web page

Curtis, M., Larney, S., Higgs, P., Cossar, R., Winter, R., Stewart, A. and Stoove, M., A. (2020). Initiation of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Shortly Before Release From Prison to Promote Treatment Retention: Strong Evidence but Compromised Policy. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 15, (6), pp. 525-526. doi:10.1097/ADM.0000000000000788 [RJ] View web page

Curtis, M., Higgs, P. and Stoove, M., A. (2019). Prison-based harm reduction measures as part of hepatitis C virus treatment. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 4, (12), pp. 903. doi:10.1016/S2468-1253(19)30335-8 [RJ] View web page

Davis, A., C., Wright, C., Curtis, M., Hellard, M., Lim, M. and Temple-Smith, M. (2019). ‘Not my child’: parenting, pornography, and views on education. Journal of Family Studies, 27, (4), pp. 573-588. doi:10.1080/13229400.2019.1657929 [RJ] View web page

Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Aitken, C., Kirwan, A., Kinner, S., A., Butler, T. and Stoove, M., A. (2018). Acceptability of prison-based take-home naloxone programmes among a cohort of incarcerated men with a history of regular injecting drug use. Harm Reduction Journal, 15, (48). doi:10.1186/s12954-018-0255-5 [RJ] View web page

Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Dietze, P., Armstrong, G., Curtis, M., Kinner, S., A., Ogloff, J., R., Kirwan, A. and Stoove, M., A. (2018). Lifetime prevalence and correlates of self-harm and suicide attempts among male prisoners with histories of injecting drug use. Health & Justice, 6. doi:10.1186/s40352-018-0077-2 [RJ] View web page

Kirwan, A., Curtis, M., van Beek, I., Cantwell, K. and Dietze, P. (2016). Take-home naloxone programs and calls to emergency services. Medical Journal of Australia, 204, pp. 143. doi:10.5694/mja15.00783 [RJ] View web page