The development of an early warning system to detect trends in illicit drug use in Australia: The illicit drug reporting-system


Autoria(s): Hando, Julie; Darke, Shane; OBrien, Susannah; Maher, Lisa; Hall, Wayne
Data(s)

01/04/1998

Resumo

Appropriate ways to monitor the availability and use of illicit drugs were examined. Four methods were tested concurrently: (1) a quantitative survey of injecting drug users, (2) a qualitative key informant study of illicit drug users and professionals working in the drug field, (3) examination of existing sources of survey, health and law enforcement data and (4) an ethnographic study of a high risk group of illicit drug users. The first three methods were recommended for inclusion in an ongoing national monitoring system, enabling the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data on a range of illicit drugs in a relatively brief, quick and cost-effective manner. A degree of convergent validity was also noted among these methods, improving the degree of confidence in drug trends. The importance of injecting drug users as a sentinel population of illicit drug users was highlighted, along with optimal methods for qualitative research.

Identificador

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:34995

Idioma(s)

eng

Publicador

Harwood Academic Publishers

Palavras-Chave #Substance Abuse #Social Issues #Drug Trends #Monitoring #Early Warning #Methods #New-south-wales #Heroin Users #11 Medical and Health Sciences #1117 Public Health and Health Services
Tipo

Journal Article