Megan S C Lim
Biographic Data
| ID | 4370331 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Megan S C Lim |
| GIVEN NAMES | Megan S C |
| FAMILY NAME | Lim |
| SIGNATURE | LIM M S C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Burnet Institute |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3136-6761 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 32 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Trends in alcohol, smoking, and drug use in cross-sectional samples of young people in Australia, 2015-24
This study aims to examine trends in alcohol, smoking (including e-cigarettes), and other drug use, including trends in specific drug types, among young people aged 15–29 years in Australia between 2015 and 2024. Annual online cross-sectional surveys were conducted in convenience samples of young people in Australia between 2015 and 2024, with a total of 9988 participants. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations between y…
Safe beats down under
Background In the context of Australian music festivals, including those in the Northern Territory (NT), drug-related harms persist. This study focused on gathering local insights into drug-related behaviours and attitudes, particularly regarding drug checking, among NT festival attendees.Methods In May 2022, attendees (aged 16+) at a single-day multi-genre music festival in the NT were surveyed onsite about their drug use and harm reduction beha…
Music festival attendees’ transport mode and beliefs about alcohol and illicit drug use before driving in Victoria, Australia
We examined transport behaviors and drink and drug driving beliefs among music festival attendees as festivals are a risk environment for drink and drug driving. Overall, 2305 participants from 23 Australian festivals self-completed a questionnaire, with logistic regression used to examine correlates of drink and drug driving beliefs. Most participants attending regional music festivals travelled by car (81% to and 77% from festival) and shared d…
How is substance use portrayed in digital media and what impacts can it have
In 2021, Facebook Inc. changed its name to Meta. At first glance, the updated name simply reflected that the company had grown to own not just the Facebook platform, but also Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp and a desire to branch out and include virtual reality [1]. The term “meta,” however, has a deeper meaning. Meta is short for metaverse, a word coined by Neal Stephenson in his dystopian novel Snow Crash. The metaverse is a hypothetical future st…
Mild structure, low pressure
This study aimed to understand how COVID-19 affected social connection, barriers to connection, and generated ideas for creating pro-connection activities and spaces. The approach was guided by design principles and included generative interviews and a group workshop with young people aged 16–24 years. COVID-19 allowed young people to recognize the importance of face-to-face and incidental social contacts and appreciate deeper connections to frie…
Young People's Recommendations for Accessible, Engaging, and Relevant Covid-19 Research Communication in Australia
Research is often communicated in ways that fail to reach young people. This participatory study explored young people's recommendations for making COVID-19 research communication accessible, engaging, and relevant for young people in Australia. We held eight online Zoom workshops with nine young people (18-21 years). Participants recommended researchers share their findings on platforms young people already use, particularly social media. Young …
Using social practice theory in measuring perceived stigma among female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya
The trial was registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12616000852459
Social Media Use and Health and Well-being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth
Alcohol consumption and illicit drug use among young music festival attendees in Australia
Vanessa is a youth-led service promoting road safety at music festivals. We conducted a cross-sectional survey at 23 festivals in Victoria, Australia to investigate alcohol and illicit drug use among attendees aged ≥16 years who visited Vanessa. Participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption (AUDIT-C) and reported recent illicit drug use and intentions to use drugs at festivals. Multinomial and logistic regress…
You have to drink with a little bit of shame”
Migrant and ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in alcohol and other drug (AOD) research. This qualitative study explored AOD use among young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds in Melbourne, Australia. We conducted one focus group and 16 interviews and thematically analyzed data drawing on the social-ecological model of health. Theme one showed AOD use was considered a "normal" part of youth identity, particularly for par…
‘Censorship is cancer’. Young people’s support for pornography-related initiatives
Policymakers are considering initiatives to reduce potential harms of pornography, including educational and legislative approaches. In determining the appropriateness of policies, however, it is important to consider community attitudes. We conducted an online survey with a convenience sample of 1272 young people aged 15–29 in Australia, recruited via social media. Seventy-four per cent reported having watched pornography in the past year. Parti…
Addressing alcohol and other drug use among young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds
Young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds are recognised as emerging priority populations for reducing alcohol and other drug (AOD)-related harms in Australia. Limited research has investigated how service providers address AOD challenges in migrant communities. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 15 service providers from AOD, migrant support, community and other health services in a diverse region of Melbourne. Interviews …
Not my child’
Most young people will be exposed to online pornography for the first time during childhood or early adolescence. Despite limited evidence of long term impacts, concerns about the negative influence of pornography on young viewers’ sexual attitudes and practices have led to calls for the development of policy, resources, and guidelines to assist in navigating these experiences in family and community settings. Pornography and sex education are cl…
I aspire to look and feel healthy like the posts convey”
Many participants reported benefits of fitspiration content including increased social support and access to health information. However, participants also reported that fitspiration content could negatively influence their wellbeing and perception of healthy goals. Content posted by relatable individuals or qualified experts was perceived as most trustworthy. Future research is needed to determine the individual and content-related factors assoc…
What Behaviors Do Young Heterosexual Australians See in Pornography? A Cross-Sectional Study
This study investigated how frequently a group of young heterosexual Australians (ages 15 to 29) saw a range of behaviors represented in pornography over the previous 12 months. Participants were recruited to an anonymous online survey. Those who reported having viewed pornography in the past 12 months (n = 517) indicated how frequently they saw each of a list of 17 behaviors when they watched pornography in the past 12 months. Men's pleasure (83…
“Fitspiration” on Social Media
BACKGROUND: "Fitspiration" (also known as "fitspo") aims to inspire individuals to exercise and be healthy, but emerging research indicates exposure can negatively impact female body image. Fitspiration is frequently accessed on social media; however, it is currently unclear the degree to which messages about body image and exercise differ by gender of the subject. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to conduct a content analysis to identify the …
Subjective well-being among young people in five Eastern European countries
Patterns of well-being in youth vary substantially between countries and are only partly accounted for by standard demographic characteristics. Despite higher rates of adolescent marriage and childbearing, and lower levels of educational attainment and employment, Roma youth had similar levels of well-being to the general population
Participatory development of Midy (Mobile Intervention for Drinking in Young people)
Findings suggest that the intervention was considered acceptable, feasible and novel to our participants; it now requires comprehensive testing and evaluation
The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being
As Internet access and literacy increases, pornography has become highly accessible, cheap and diverse. Online pornography use is common in the USA, with nearly 9 out of 10 men and 1 out of 3 women aged 18–26 reporting accessing pornography online.1 In June 2013, legal pornographic websites received more UK-based traffic than social networks, shopping, news and media, email, finance, gaming and travel websites.2 For example, popular pornography w…
Mental Health and Associated Sexual Health Behaviours in a Sample of Young People Attending a Music Festival in Melbourne, Victoria
Sexual identity, same-sex partners and risk behaviour among a community-based sample of young people in Australia
Impact of text and email messaging on the sexual health of young people
OBJECTIVE: To carry out a randomised controlled trial on the effect of a new method of health promotion-email and mobile phone text messages (short messaging service (SMS))-on young people's sexual health. METHODS: 994 people aged 16-29 were recruited at a music festival to a non-blinded randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomised to either receive sexual health promotion messages (n=507) or the control group (n=487). The 12-month i…
What's in a message? Delivering sexual health promotion to young people in Australia via text messaging
Mobile phones, in particular SMS, offer health promoters an exciting opportunity to engage personally with a huge number of individuals for low cost. The key elements emerging from this evaluation, such as message style, language and broadcast schedule are directly relevant to future studies using SMS for health promotion, as well as for future health promotion interventions in other mediums that require short formats, such as social networking s…
Randomised controlled trial of paper, online and SMS diaries for collecting sexual behaviour information from young people
SMS is a convenient and timely method of collecting brief behavioural data, but online data collection was preferable to most participants and more likely to be complete. Data collected in retrospective sexual behaviour questionnaires were found to agree substantially with data collected through weekly self-reported diaries
What Behaviors Do Young Heterosexual Australians See in Pornography? A Cross-Sectional Study
This study investigated how frequently a group of young heterosexual Australians (ages 15 to 29) saw a range of behaviors represented in pornography over the previous 12 months. Participants were recruited to an anonymous online survey. Those who reported having viewed pornography in the past 12 months (n = 517) indicated how frequently they saw each of a list of 17 behaviors when they watched pornography in the past 12 months. Men's pleasure (83…
Not my child’
Most young people will be exposed to online pornography for the first time during childhood or early adolescence. Despite limited evidence of long term impacts, concerns about the negative influence of pornography on young viewers’ sexual attitudes and practices have led to calls for the development of policy, resources, and guidelines to assist in navigating these experiences in family and community settings. Pornography and sex education are cl…
Addressing alcohol and other drug use among young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds
Young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds are recognised as emerging priority populations for reducing alcohol and other drug (AOD)-related harms in Australia. Limited research has investigated how service providers address AOD challenges in migrant communities. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 15 service providers from AOD, migrant support, community and other health services in a diverse region of Melbourne. Interviews …
Impact of text and email messaging on the sexual health of young people
OBJECTIVE: To carry out a randomised controlled trial on the effect of a new method of health promotion-email and mobile phone text messages (short messaging service (SMS))-on young people's sexual health. METHODS: 994 people aged 16-29 were recruited at a music festival to a non-blinded randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomised to either receive sexual health promotion messages (n=507) or the control group (n=487). The 12-month i…
The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being
As Internet access and literacy increases, pornography has become highly accessible, cheap and diverse. Online pornography use is common in the USA, with nearly 9 out of 10 men and 1 out of 3 women aged 18–26 reporting accessing pornography online.1 In June 2013, legal pornographic websites received more UK-based traffic than social networks, shopping, news and media, email, finance, gaming and travel websites.2 For example, popular pornography w…
Mental Health and Associated Sexual Health Behaviours in a Sample of Young People Attending a Music Festival in Melbourne, Victoria
Randomised controlled trial of paper, online and SMS diaries for collecting sexual behaviour information from young people
SMS is a convenient and timely method of collecting brief behavioural data, but online data collection was preferable to most participants and more likely to be complete. Data collected in retrospective sexual behaviour questionnaires were found to agree substantially with data collected through weekly self-reported diaries
What's in a message? Delivering sexual health promotion to young people in Australia via text messaging
Mobile phones, in particular SMS, offer health promoters an exciting opportunity to engage personally with a huge number of individuals for low cost. The key elements emerging from this evaluation, such as message style, language and broadcast schedule are directly relevant to future studies using SMS for health promotion, as well as for future health promotion interventions in other mediums that require short formats, such as social networking s…
Randomised controlled trial of paper, online and SMS diaries for collecting sexual behaviour information from young people
SMS is a convenient and timely method of collecting brief behavioural data, but online data collection was preferable to most participants and more likely to be complete. Data collected in retrospective sexual behaviour questionnaires were found to agree substantially with data collected through weekly self-reported diaries
Impact of text and email messaging on the sexual health of young people
OBJECTIVE: To carry out a randomised controlled trial on the effect of a new method of health promotion-email and mobile phone text messages (short messaging service (SMS))-on young people's sexual health. METHODS: 994 people aged 16-29 were recruited at a music festival to a non-blinded randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomised to either receive sexual health promotion messages (n=507) or the control group (n=487). The 12-month i…
Sexual identity, same-sex partners and risk behaviour among a community-based sample of young people in Australia
Participatory development of Midy (Mobile Intervention for Drinking in Young people)
Findings suggest that the intervention was considered acceptable, feasible and novel to our participants; it now requires comprehensive testing and evaluation
The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being
As Internet access and literacy increases, pornography has become highly accessible, cheap and diverse. Online pornography use is common in the USA, with nearly 9 out of 10 men and 1 out of 3 women aged 18–26 reporting accessing pornography online.1 In June 2013, legal pornographic websites received more UK-based traffic than social networks, shopping, news and media, email, finance, gaming and travel websites.2 For example, popular pornography w…
Mental Health and Associated Sexual Health Behaviours in a Sample of Young People Attending a Music Festival in Melbourne, Victoria
“Fitspiration” on Social Media
BACKGROUND: "Fitspiration" (also known as "fitspo") aims to inspire individuals to exercise and be healthy, but emerging research indicates exposure can negatively impact female body image. Fitspiration is frequently accessed on social media; however, it is currently unclear the degree to which messages about body image and exercise differ by gender of the subject. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to conduct a content analysis to identify the …
Subjective well-being among young people in five Eastern European countries
Patterns of well-being in youth vary substantially between countries and are only partly accounted for by standard demographic characteristics. Despite higher rates of adolescent marriage and childbearing, and lower levels of educational attainment and employment, Roma youth had similar levels of well-being to the general population
I aspire to look and feel healthy like the posts convey”
Many participants reported benefits of fitspiration content including increased social support and access to health information. However, participants also reported that fitspiration content could negatively influence their wellbeing and perception of healthy goals. Content posted by relatable individuals or qualified experts was perceived as most trustworthy. Future research is needed to determine the individual and content-related factors assoc…
What Behaviors Do Young Heterosexual Australians See in Pornography? A Cross-Sectional Study
This study investigated how frequently a group of young heterosexual Australians (ages 15 to 29) saw a range of behaviors represented in pornography over the previous 12 months. Participants were recruited to an anonymous online survey. Those who reported having viewed pornography in the past 12 months (n = 517) indicated how frequently they saw each of a list of 17 behaviors when they watched pornography in the past 12 months. Men's pleasure (83…
Not my child’
Most young people will be exposed to online pornography for the first time during childhood or early adolescence. Despite limited evidence of long term impacts, concerns about the negative influence of pornography on young viewers’ sexual attitudes and practices have led to calls for the development of policy, resources, and guidelines to assist in navigating these experiences in family and community settings. Pornography and sex education are cl…
‘Censorship is cancer’. Young people’s support for pornography-related initiatives
Policymakers are considering initiatives to reduce potential harms of pornography, including educational and legislative approaches. In determining the appropriateness of policies, however, it is important to consider community attitudes. We conducted an online survey with a convenience sample of 1272 young people aged 15–29 in Australia, recruited via social media. Seventy-four per cent reported having watched pornography in the past year. Parti…
Addressing alcohol and other drug use among young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds
Young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds are recognised as emerging priority populations for reducing alcohol and other drug (AOD)-related harms in Australia. Limited research has investigated how service providers address AOD challenges in migrant communities. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 15 service providers from AOD, migrant support, community and other health services in a diverse region of Melbourne. Interviews …
Social Media Use and Health and Well-being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth
Alcohol consumption and illicit drug use among young music festival attendees in Australia
Vanessa is a youth-led service promoting road safety at music festivals. We conducted a cross-sectional survey at 23 festivals in Victoria, Australia to investigate alcohol and illicit drug use among attendees aged ≥16 years who visited Vanessa. Participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption (AUDIT-C) and reported recent illicit drug use and intentions to use drugs at festivals. Multinomial and logistic regress…
You have to drink with a little bit of shame”
Migrant and ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in alcohol and other drug (AOD) research. This qualitative study explored AOD use among young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds in Melbourne, Australia. We conducted one focus group and 16 interviews and thematically analyzed data drawing on the social-ecological model of health. Theme one showed AOD use was considered a "normal" part of youth identity, particularly for par…
Using social practice theory in measuring perceived stigma among female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya
The trial was registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12616000852459
Music festival attendees’ transport mode and beliefs about alcohol and illicit drug use before driving in Victoria, Australia
We examined transport behaviors and drink and drug driving beliefs among music festival attendees as festivals are a risk environment for drink and drug driving. Overall, 2305 participants from 23 Australian festivals self-completed a questionnaire, with logistic regression used to examine correlates of drink and drug driving beliefs. Most participants attending regional music festivals travelled by car (81% to and 77% from festival) and shared d…
How is substance use portrayed in digital media and what impacts can it have
In 2021, Facebook Inc. changed its name to Meta. At first glance, the updated name simply reflected that the company had grown to own not just the Facebook platform, but also Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp and a desire to branch out and include virtual reality [1]. The term “meta,” however, has a deeper meaning. Meta is short for metaverse, a word coined by Neal Stephenson in his dystopian novel Snow Crash. The metaverse is a hypothetical future st…
Mild structure, low pressure
This study aimed to understand how COVID-19 affected social connection, barriers to connection, and generated ideas for creating pro-connection activities and spaces. The approach was guided by design principles and included generative interviews and a group workshop with young people aged 16–24 years. COVID-19 allowed young people to recognize the importance of face-to-face and incidental social contacts and appreciate deeper connections to frie…
Young People's Recommendations for Accessible, Engaging, and Relevant Covid-19 Research Communication in Australia
Research is often communicated in ways that fail to reach young people. This participatory study explored young people's recommendations for making COVID-19 research communication accessible, engaging, and relevant for young people in Australia. We held eight online Zoom workshops with nine young people (18-21 years). Participants recommended researchers share their findings on platforms young people already use, particularly social media. Young …
Safe beats down under
Background In the context of Australian music festivals, including those in the Northern Territory (NT), drug-related harms persist. This study focused on gathering local insights into drug-related behaviours and attitudes, particularly regarding drug checking, among NT festival attendees.Methods In May 2022, attendees (aged 16+) at a single-day multi-genre music festival in the NT were surveyed onsite about their drug use and harm reduction beha…
Trends in alcohol, smoking, and drug use in cross-sectional samples of young people in Australia, 2015-24
This study aims to examine trends in alcohol, smoking (including e-cigarettes), and other drug use, including trends in specific drug types, among young people aged 15–29 years in Australia between 2015 and 2024. Annual online cross-sectional surveys were conducted in convenience samples of young people in Australia between 2015 and 2024, with a total of 9988 participants. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations between y…
Psychology (17 works) · Medicine (15 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Environmental health (7 works) · Psychiatry (7 works) · Nursing (6 works) · Public health (6 works) · Social media (6 works) · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes (6 works)