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Hepatitis B (HBV) is a major public health issue with over 250 million people chronically infected worldwide. In Australia, prevalence is higher among migrant communities and these groups may be reticent to attend health care services due to concerns about experiencing stigma and discrimination. The way health workers perceive their clients, particularly those of migrant backgrounds, may influence the way they treat these clients and the quality of care provided. This study investigated and compared the attitudes and concerns health workers and health students have towards working with clients living with HBV. Health workers (n = 551) and students (n = 199) completed an online survey which investigated attitudes towards people living with HBV, comfort with providing care for these clients and concerns they have about working with them. Health students expressed less comfort (U= 47 611, z= −2.73, P= .006) and reported more concerns about working with people with HBV than qualified health workers (U= 61611.50, z= 2.64, P= .008). Students’ concerns were centred around their own ability to provide care rather than issues related to clients. There were no differences in overall attitudes towards people living with HBV between health workers and students. To address concerns that health workers and students may have in working with people living with HBV, particularly those from migrant communities, and to ensure that health workers feel comfortable and confident, HBV workforce development should be included in undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes as well as in continuing professional education. This will assist the health workforce to develop competency in the treatment of people living with HBV, with the ultimate aim of providing best quality, non‐judgemental care to all people living with HBV.

Objective: To describe methadone injectors and the risk practices associated with injecting methadone in New South Wales, Australia. To assess the impact on injecting drug use and risk behaviour of the withdrawal of methadone injecting equipment from government‐funded needle and syringe programs. Method: Cross‐sectional survey, conducted in 1999, of 206 people who had injected methadone at least once in the previous month. Participants were from Central Sydney, West Sydney and rural New South Wales. Results: Of participants who had injected both methadone and other drugs in the previous month (n=162), significantly more reused their methadone injecting equipment compared with those who reused their other drug injecting equipment (60% vs. 28%, p<0.01). There was no significant difference in terms of sharing injecting equipment, with 19% reporting sharing methadone injecting equipment and 14% sharing other drug injecting equipment. However, women were more likely than men to share methadone injecting equipment. Over half of the participants had accessed diverted methadone and a substantial minority reported the use of public spaces for injecting methadone. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the current policy has led to increased reuse of equipment for injecting methadone. Implications: A range of other possible policy options, such as closer monitoring and dilution of take‐home doses, increasing oral doses and implementing trials of injected methadone, may assist to reduce the prevalence of methadone syrup injection and related harms.

Objective: To describe methadone injectors and the risk practices associated with injecting methadone in New South Wales, Australia. To assess the impact on injecting drug use and risk behaviour of the withdrawal of methadone injecting equipment from government‐funded needle and syringe programs.