A drug misuser prevalence study in a rural English district

A capture-recapture method was used to estimate the total prevalence of drug (opiates, amphetamines or cocaine) misusers in a rural English district. Unique identifying information on known misusers was obtained from four agencies, including general practitioners, in contact with them. Log-linear mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	European journal of public health Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 34 - 36
Main Authors:	BRUGHA, RUAIRÍ F., SWAN, ANTHONY V., HAYHURST, GUY K., FALLON, MICHAEL P.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford University Press 01-03-1998
Subjects:	capture-recapture drug misuse general practice prevalence
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	A capture-recapture method was used to estimate the total prevalence of drug (opiates, amphetamines or cocaine) misusers in a rural English district. Unique identifying information on known misusers was obtained from four agencies, including general practitioners, in contact with them. Log-linear modelling produced a complex model, suggesting that the 518 known misusers represented 47% of the estimated true number, giving an estimated prevalence of 2.5 per 1,000 population (CL: 1.6–9.4). This method may not provide precise estimates of misuser population sizes and should be used in conjunction with other methods for estimating need.
Bibliography:	ArticleID:8.1.34 istex:3B0CCFF2C3D2EDEA4BE290A25003707A9E1EC896 ark:/67375/HXZ-HL9R5HCZ-4
ISSN:	1101-1262 1464-360X
DOI:	10.1093/eurpub/8.1.34