ARQ part II data management

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ARQ part II data management

• Training pack 1
• Content and conceptual issues

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Content

• Prevalence of drug abuse among the general
  population
• Prevalence of drug abuse among the school (youth)
  population
• Injecting drug abuse
• Severe drug abuse

• New developments in prevalence and patterns of
  drug use
• Drug-related morbidity
• Drug-related mortality
• Drug treatment
• Data collection capacity
• Reports and additional information

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Structure

• Specification by drug
• Summary expert opinions
• Quantitative estimates

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Specificationby drug (1)

• What information is required?
• Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances listed
  in the UN conventions
• Drug classes and/or drug types relevant for each
  question are pre-coded
• Countries can add other classes and types of
  substance
• Some questions allow aggregate information for
  any drug

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Specification by drug (2)

• Why specify by drug?
• Individual drugs show different patterns of use
  and risk behaviour
• Individual drugs are used by different subgroups
• Individual drugs have different health and social
  consequences

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Specification by drug (3)

• How to obtain the information required
• Make sure that all your experts and data
  collectors know the ARQ terminology and
  classification of drugs
• If reports do not specify ARQ categories, their
  source material might still be useful check and
  ask for dedicated runs on source data
• If you cannot match the ARQ categories, add and
  specify your own

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Summary expert opinions (1)

• Expert opinions should be gathered on
• The occurrence of individual drugs
• The rank order of individual drugs
• New developments
• Trends in the use of individual drugs

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Example occurrence questions
NO/YES per drug
NO/YES per drug Any drug
NO/YES per infection
NO/YES per drug Any drug
NO/YES per drug Any drug
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Example rank order questions
Rank in numerical order
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Example new developments

• Respond according to evidence
• in reports or the field experience
• of informed experts

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Example trend questions
Mark according to the perspective of your country
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Summary expert opinions (2)

• Why include expert opinions?
• Because quantitative estimates are not available
  or not possible
• Because existing quantitative estimates might not
  be specific for individual drugs
• To include rare and new drugs
• To qualify trends in relation to context

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Example rare and new drugs

• Rare drugs might not show up in survey results
• Rare drugs might not be specified separately in
  treatment or mortality data
• New drugs might not yet have been included in
  forms or questionnaires

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Example qualification of trends

• The qualification of any absolute change as
  large or small depends on the starting
  position or the size of the reference population
• An identical absolute change may be perceived as
  large for one drug but as no great change for
  another

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Summary expert opinions (3)

• How to respond on the basis of expert opinions
• Select relevant experts
• Start with existing advisory group(s) if possible
  
• Use the nomination method and purposive selection
• Consult the experts
• Use the expert-survey or Delphi method
• Respond to the ARQ according to consensus or
  (weighted) average opinion

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Example assessment of expert opinions
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Example selection of experts

• Start with the usual government advisers or
  advisory group
• Ask them to nominate experts in different fields
  relevant for responding to the ARQ
• Select on the basis of consensus and acknowledged
  expertise

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Example Delphi-method consultation
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Quantitative estimates (1)

• The ARQ asks for quantitative estimates on
• Lifetime and last year prevalence among adult and
  school (youth) population
• Recent injecting and equipment sharing
• Problem drug use
• Drug-related infections
• Drug-related deaths
• Drug treatment

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Quantitative estimates (2)

• Why choose these topics and report formats?
• Globally accepted core indicators for the
  description of
• The extent of drug abuse ? prevalence, problem
  use
• Risk behaviour in drug abuse ? injecting, sharing
• The consequences of drug abuse ? infections,
  death, treatment demand

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Example coherence between indicators
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Quantitative estimates (3)

• Reports should consist of one of the following
• Existing data and research at national level
  relating to the ARQ reporting year
• Purposive national estimates
• Existing incomplete, fragmented, sub-national
  quantitative data and research reports

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Example existing data

• Reports from national monitoring system
• National reports to other international
  organizations (WHO, EMCDDA, etc.)
• Results from national studies
• National statistics
• If not related to reporting year
• Attempt trend extrapolation
• Report most recent year available

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Example purposive estimates

• Purposive for completion of the ARQ
• Not applicable for all indicators
• Based on accepted scientific estimation methods
• Resources
• Drug Abuse Rapid Situation Assessments
• GAP Toolkit Module 2 Estimating Prevalence

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Example fragmented data

• Try to construct a national estimate by an
  inductive approach
• Start with an expert opinion about likely
  national figures
• Check against available dispersed qualitative and
  quantitative information
• Adapt expert opinion according to findings
• Seek consensus among informed experts
• If not possible, report a partial estimate

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Data collection capacity

• Rate your countrys capacity to meet ARQ
  reporting needs
• Responses enable UNODC to assess needs in
  capacity-building

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• End of presentation

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References (1)

• Web sites www.incb.org/e/ind_conv.htm
• www.unodc.org/pdf/publications/report_2003-09-0
  1_1.pdf

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References (2)

• Web site www.unodc.org

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Example differences in rank order

• Eastern Europe

• Western Europe

Rank order





9

Crack

Crack

8

Opium

Inhalants

Cocaine

7

Opium

Hallucinogens

6

Heroin

Inhalants

Hallucinogens

5

Ecstasy

Amphetamines

4

Amphetamines

Ecstasy

3

Heroin

Cocaine

2

Cannabis

Cannabis

1


Situation in the late 1990s