Dr Cassandra Wright

NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow

Qualifications:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Public health/Epidemiology, Monash University, 2018; BHSc (Hons) – Major in Health Promotion, Monash University, 2011

Location:

Darwin – CDU Red 9

Biography:

Dr Cassandra Wright is a public health researcher, with qualifications in health promotion, public health and epidemiology. She holds a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship, focused on understanding and addressing risky alcohol consumption. Her work at Menzies is specifically focused on priority populations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She is a Research Fellow on the LEARNT study, which examines the impacts of Banned Drinker Register, Minimum Unit Pricing and other policy interventions in the Northern Territory.

Prior to her appointment at Menzies, she worked at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research in Melbourne as a Research Fellow. She completed her PhD at the Burnet Institute (enrolled through Monash University). Her PhD focused on behavioural interventions to reduce alcohol consumption among young people.

Dr Wright has research expertise in alcohol; young people’s health; digital interventions; sexual health and health promotion programs. She uses mixed research methods and frequently uses participatory approaches to research and developing health promotion activities. She is an experienced evaluator and has led evaluations on programs ranging from local-level prevention activities to state-wide health programs.

She is the Northern Territory Representative for the Australasian Professional Society for Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD).

Dr Cassandra Wright
Email
Research Themes

 

  • LEarning from Alcohol (Policy) Reforms in the NT
  1. Wright, C. J., Livingston, M., Dwyer, R., & Callinan, S. (2020). Second, third, fourth COVID‐19 waves and the ‘pancession’: We need studies that account for the complexities of how the pandemic is affecting alcohol consumption in Australia. Drug and alcohol review. doi: 10.1111/dar.13188
  2. Callinan, S., Mojica‐Perez, Y., Wright, C. J., Livingston, M., Kuntsche, S., Laslett, A. M., ... & Kuntsche, E. (2020). Purchasing, consumption, demographic and socioeconomic variables associated with shifts in alcohol consumption during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Drug and Alcohol Review. doi: 10.1111/dar.13200
  3. Wright, C., Dietze, P. M., Kuntsche, E., Livingston, M., Agius, P. A., Room, R., ... & Lim, M. S. (2020). Effectiveness of an Ecological Momentary Intervention for Reducing Risky Alcohol Consumption Among Young Adults: Protocol for a Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 9(3), e14190. doi: 10.2196/14190
  4. Davis, A. C., Wright, C. J., Murphy, S., Dietze, P., Temple-Smith, M. J., Hellard, M. E., & Lim, M. S. (2020). A Digital Pornography Literacy Resource Co-Designed With Vulnerable Young People: Development of" The Gist". Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(6), e15964. doi: 10.2196/15964
  5. Wright, C. J., Schwarzman, J., Dietze, P. M., Crockett, B., & Lim, M. S. (2019). Barriers and opportunities in the translation of mobile phone and social media interventions between research and health promotion practice in Australia: a qualitative study of expert perspectives. Health research policy and systems, 17(1), 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s12961-018-0406-x
  6. Quinn, B., Peach, E., Wright, C. J., Lim, M. S., Davidson, L., & Dietze, P. (2017). Alcohol and other substance use among a sample of young people in the Solomon Islands. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 41(4), 358-364. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12669
  7. Wright, C. J., Dietze, P. M., & Lim, M. S. (2017). Beyond basic feedback in mobile brief interventions: Designing SMS message content for delivery to young adults during risky drinking events. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 5(6), e79. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.6497
  8. Douglass, C. H., Early, E. C., Wright, C. J., Palmer, A., Higgs, P., Quinn, B., ... & Lim, M. S. (2017). “Just not all ice users do that”: investigating perceptions and potential harms of Australia’s Ice Destroys Lives campaign in two studies. Harm reduction journal, 14(1), 45. doi: 10.1186/s12954-017-0175-9
  9. Carrotte, E. R., Dietze, P. M., Wright, C. J., & Lim, M. S. (2016). Who ‘likes’ alcohol? Young Australians' engagement with alcohol marketing via social media and related alcohol consumption patterns. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 40(5), 474-479. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12572
  10. Weaver, E. R., Wright, C. J., Dietze, P. M., & Lim, M. S. (2016). ‘A drink that makes you feel happier, relaxed and loving’: young People's perceptions of alcohol advertising on Facebook. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 51(4), 481-486. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agv134
  1. Media release | Middle-aged women engaging in risky drinking habits

    Media release | Middle-aged women engaging in risky drinking habits

    Date

    New research has found that middle-aged women are drinking at increasingly risky levels, challenging the traditional view that young people and men are the ones at risk of alcohol harms.

  2. ABC Online | Katie drinks more than she should. Research shows more middle-aged women are doing the same

    ABC Online | Katie drinks more than she should. Research shows more middle-aged women are doing the same

    Date

    Katie (not her real name) says most nights she drinks half a bottle of wine on the couch to unwind after a long day juggling two young kids with full-time work.

  3. Menzies researchers say zero-alcohol beverages a cause for concern

    Menzies researchers say zero-alcohol beverages a cause for concern

    Date

    A new paper by Menzies and The George Institute for Global Health questions whether zero alcohol beverages are giving young Australians a taste for alcohol.

  4. Zero alcohol dispute over “gateway drink” claims

    Zero alcohol dispute over “gateway drink” claims

    Date

    The debate over the positioning of zero-alcohol beverage options has continued this week after a journal article suggested that no-alcohol options could be “gateway” drinks.

  5. Drinks industry responds to report linking zero-alcohol products and underage drinking

    Drinks industry responds to report linking zero-alcohol products and underage drinking

    Date

    Alcohol Beverages Australia (ABA) CEO Andrew Wilsmore has criticised a research paper released by the Menzies School of Health Research that draws a link between zero-alcohol products and underage drinking.

  6. NT News | Beers fears for children

    NT News | Beers fears for children

    Date

    Experts at the Menzies School of Health Research and The George Institute for Global Health have raised concerns about the impact of exposing young people to booze branding and logos in supermarkets.

  7. Zeroing in on zero-alcohol beverages

    Zeroing in on zero-alcohol beverages

    Date

    They’re marketed as a healthier alternative to alcohol, but a commentary in Drug and Alcohol Review has called this into question, saying more research is needed to see whether they actually reduce drinking, or if they could be a gateway to more alcohol consumption.

  8. Zero-alcohol beverages – harm-minimisation tool or gateway drink?

    Zero-alcohol beverages – harm-minimisation tool or gateway drink?

    Date

    Zero-alcohol beverages are becoming increasingly popular in Australia. Consumption of zero-alcohol products increased by 2.9 per cent in 2020 .