NCJ Number
134996
Editor(s)
B Frank,
R Simeone,
B Stimmel
Date Published
1991
Length
150 pages
Annotation
Nine papers by drug epidemiologists provide descriptive accounts of drug abuse epidemiology to guide drug abuse researchers, public health experts, and social scientists as they collect and analyze drug abuse information for the particular population they serve.
Abstract
The opening paper presents data on the epidemiology of drug abuse in the United States. It includes an integrating approach from various data sources: national, State, and local levels; surveillance systems; and outbreak investigations. Analyses focus on changes in levels of use for various drugs as well as changes in user characteristics and consequences of use. The second paper describes research strategies that have been used in Mexico over the past 15 years: their advantages, disadvantages, and perspectives for the future. A discussion of epidemiological approaches to drug misuse in Britain constitutes the third paper. Emphasis is on the value of local research and comparative studies among localities. Another paper addresses what works and what does not work in drug abuse epidemiology in Europe. Given the tradition in European countries of defining the drug abuse problem in terms of social and medical interventions, epidemiological research is also tied to these interventions and consequently to community-based research. The remaining five papers consider what works in drug abuse prevalence estimation, techniques for monitoring the use of designer drugs, street studies that have worked in New York City, a typology based on measures of substance abuse and mental disorder, and health and substance-use behavior in a longitudinal Harlem health study. Chapter references and a selective guide to current reference sources (66) on topics discussed in the book