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Affiliation
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Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, 238 Townsend Ave, 1885 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. |
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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Despite several sources corroborating an expanding market and increased visibility and greater diversity in users' profiles, very little is known about the number of crack cocaine users in France.
METHOD: The estimates rely on a single data source capture-recapture method. Annual data are extracted from treatment centres nationwide. To account for heterogeneity, we use an innovative zero-truncated geometric, regression-based estimator controlling for individual and centre characteristics. We use the well-known Zelterman estimator as a benchmark.
RESULTS: The number of crack cocaine users received in treatment centres increased dramatically, from 3388 in 2010 to 5143 in 2017 (+52%). The estimated number of crack cocaine users is believed to have tripled over the course of the same period (from 9775, 95% CI [8288-11530] to 28983 [24876-33766], respectively), with prevalences below 1‰, similar to other European countries. The coverage rate (observed number/estimated number of users) decreased in a similar fashion, indicating lower utilization. In particular, females and younger users are underestimated by data from treatment centres.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of crack cocaine use is fairly low but steadily increasing. The diversity in users' profiles is a challenge to prevention and public health policies that should expand their scope to a more inclusive perspective of what defines crack cocaine users. Our method overcomes several methodological issues (data sources, data linkage, heterogeneity) and can be easily applied to a wide range of settings.
Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Language: en |