Cyril Rioli features in the Brain Stories, promoting a healthier lifestyle away from drugs and alcohol.
The Menzies School of Health Research and St Vincent’s Hospital unveiled educational flipcharts in Melbourne this week that will be used Australia wide to illustrate the damage alcohol and marijuana does to the brain
for Indigenous people in urban, rural and remote settings.
The Grog Brain Story
Lead Menzies researcher and developer of the flipcharts Dr Sheree Cairney said "although recent scientific discoveries have greatly increased our understanding of how alcohol and drugs affect our brain function, much of this knowledge and treatment available to the broader Australian community is rarely offered to, or accessed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
"This is because of cultural barriers, reduced English literacy and a failure to explain in culturally accessible and educationally appropriate ways why addiction problems develop and why treatment is important."
The flipcharts describe how a healthy brain and nervous system work, the effects of alcohol (grog) and cannabis (gunja/yarndi) on the brain, lifestyle and behaviour; how addiction and the brain are related; how and why treatment programs work and the importance of treatment to overcome alcohol and drug problems.
Sheree Cairney and Illustrator Joseph Fitz, were joined at the launch by Hawthorn Football Club’s Cyril Rioli whose image appears in the flip-charts showing what can be achieved with a healthy brain.
"The educational ‘flip-charts’ use plain English language and informative, culturally relevant images to explain complex scientific information about alcohol and cannabis and their effects on the brain and behaviour" says Cairney.
"Having the right educational tools is the first step in talking this widespread problem head on" says Cairney.
The project was funded by a $100,000 grant from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, the Department of Addiction Medicine at St Vincent’s Melbourne and the Menzies School of Health Research.
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Caption for photo
Pictured L to R: Joseph Fitz (Menzies’ illustraror), Sheree Cairney (Menzies’ author), Cyril Rioli, John Currie (Co-author from Department Addictive Medicine at St Vincent’s Hospital)
: Cyril Rioli features in the Brain Stories, promoting a healthier lifestyle away from drugs and alcohol.: Alexandra Boston, Menzies School of Health Research, 0425 238 223 and The Gunja Brain Story present the information in a format that is easily understood and is culturally accepted as ‘truthful’ and the ‘full story’ in an Indigenous context.