Early warning indicators of changes in patterns of drug use in Australia

Abstract

This report examines potential sources for a data system to serve as an 'early' warning of changes in drug use in the community. The system would measure changes in drug use to allow the managers of drug and alcohol programmes to adapt their services to meet the changing needs of their clients. The topic was addressed by identifying the 'dimensions of drug use' relevant to early warning. Three criteria for inclusion in an early warning network were identified: timeliness, volume of data, and complementarity with other indicators. Each indicator was evaluated against the early warning criteria and dimensions of drug use issues. The result was a list of six indicators which could form an early warning network in Australia: a collection based on general hospital casualty reports, ambulance officer reports of drug overdoses, telephone advice service data, data from key informants, profiles of clients in drug dependence treatment centres and the users of needle exchange centres.