Exploring Drug Use: Prevalence and Patterns Among Emergency Department Patients

• NCJ Number: 208591
• Author(s): Leigh Krenske; Paul Mazerolle; Greg Fowler; Aden Fanning; Jake M. Najman
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 67 pages
• Corporate Author: Queensland Crime and Misconduct Cmssn; QADREC
• Sale Source: Queensland Crime and Misconduct Cmssn
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Survey; Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This report presents findings from the Australian collaborative research project called PADIE (Prevalence of Alcohol and Drug Use in Emergency Departments), which examined the nature and extent of alcohol and drug use among patients served at the Gold Coast Hospital Emergency Department, the fourth busiest emergency department in Australia.

Abstract

Of the 1,451 patients treated in the emergency room over a 2-week period in October 2002, 812 agreed to be interviewed about the nature and prevalence of any drug use. Of this number 449 reported having ever used an illicit drug; 231 used an illicit drug in the past 12 months; 66 used an illicit drug in the past 24 hours; and 29 used an illicit drug in the past 6 hours. Just over 40 percent of respondents smoked cigarettes daily. Just under one-third drank an alcoholic beverage monthly; 19.3 percent drank weekly; 17.2 percent drank between two and four times each week; and 17.2 percent drank five times or more each week. Forty-seven percent of respondents reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs, and 33.5 percent reported driving under the influence of alcohol within the previous year. Just over 40 percent of recent illicit drug users reported that they had given illicit drugs to another person, and 18.6 percent had sold illicit substance for profit. Twenty-seven percent of recent illicit drug users had been arrested for an offense unrelated to illicit drugs. A relationship was observed between early initiation and frequency of illicit drug use and the likelihood of participating in high-risk and criminal activity. Although these preliminary findings cannot confirm a causal link between illicit drug use and accidents or injuries that bring people to an emergency room, they do suggest that certain forms of illicit drug use can lead to negative health consequences for some individuals. Further, the findings provide evidence of a range of risk-taking behaviors associated with drug use. Extensive tables and figures and 33 references