NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

area, all 25 eligible hospitals are in the DAWN
sample: 26 EDs are in the sample. (One hospital
has more than one ED.) The data are incomplete.
In 2004, between 11 and 14 EDs reported each
month. All DAWN cases are reviewed for quality
control, and, based on the review, cases may be
corrected or deleted; therefore, the data reported in
this paper are subject to change. The data are unweighted
and are not estimates for the Phoenix
area. Data are presented in exhibit 2 for ED cases,
with both demographic and visit characteristics
described. Most data presented focus on drug reports
in 2004. Drug reports exceed the number of
visits, since a patient may report use of multiple
drugs (up to six drugs plus alcohol). These data
cannot be compared with DAWN ED data for
2002 and before, nor can they be used for comparison
with future data accessed through
DAWN Live!. Only weighted data released by
SAMHSA can be used in trend analysis. A full
description of DAWN can be found at
.
• Drug treatment data for the State overall were
provided by the Arizona Department of Health
Services (ADHS), Division of Behavioral Health
Services (DBHS), Bureau of Substance Abuse
Treatment and Prevention Services, through fiscal
year (FY) 2004; treatment admissions of adults
and juveniles to the Treatment and Assessment
Screening Center (TASC) programs in Phoenix
were derived from the Maricopa County Juvenile
Probation Program’s report and the Adult Deferred
Prosecution Program’s Cumulative Statistical
Report through 2004; and data on admissions
to detoxification treatment from July 2003 to December
2004 were provided by Community
Bridges—East Valley Addiction Council.
• Law enforcement data were provided by the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Phoenix
Office, in their report “Trends in Traffic,”
Fourth Quarter FY 2004. Additional information
was obtained from the U.S. Customs Service; the
Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
(HIDTA) Task Force; the FBI, Uniform Crime
Reports, Crime in the United States, 2002; and the
Maricopa County Methamphetamine Task Force.
• Drug price and purity data were provided by
the DEA Phoenix Division Offices; the U.S.
Customs Service; Arizona Department of Public
Safety; Phoenix Police Department; the Maricopa
County Sheriff’s Department; and Narcotics
Digest Weekly, Special Issue, Illicit Drug
Prices January–June 2004, July 20, 2004.
EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Phoenix and Arizona
• Data on drug-endangered children were obtained
from the Arizona Office of the Attorney
General for 2004.
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
data were obtained from the Arizona DHS, Division
of Public Health Services, Bureau of Epidemiology
and Disease Control, Office of HIV/STD
Services, Annual Report, March 2004.
• General information on the Phoenix area was
obtained from the National Association of Realtors,
Fourth Quarter Report for Existing Homes,
2003, and the U.S. Census Bureau, Fact Sheet
2003, American Community Survey.
DRUG ABUSE PATTERNS AND TRENDS
Special Considerations: DAWN ED Data
Unweighted data accessed from DAWN Live! reveal
drug cases by type, as follows: malicious poisoning
(0.4 percent), overmedication (21.0 percent), underage
drinking (4.0 percent), adverse reaction (20.0
percent), accidental ingestion (2.0 percent), suicide
attempt (6.0 percent), seeking detoxification (5.0 percent),
and other (42.0 percent) (exhibit 1).
The unweighted data from DAWN Live! presented
patient and visit characteristics for 2003 and 2004. A
comparison of cases for 2003 and 2004 revealed 43
percent more identified cases for 2004—6,103 versus
10,709 (exhibit 2).
Special Considerations: Treatment Data
During State FY 2004, 36,375 adults and children received
treatment in the ADHS/DBHS behavioral
health system for substance use, abuse, or dependence.
The ADHS/DBHS behavioral health system reported
that an increasing number of individuals who received
substance abuse treatment were eligible for treatment
services through Arizona’s Title XIX/XXI (AHCCCS
– Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System –
Medicaid) program. Eligibility was expanded in October
2001. Since October 2001, the proportion of
AHCCCS-eligible substance abuse treatment participants
increased from 29 percent in FY 2001 to 66 percent
in FY 2004 (exhibit 3).
ADHS/DBHS data reveal 76.2 percent (27,619) of
adults and 25.2 percent of youth in treatment were
White in FY 2004. An additional 11.8 percent (4,289)
of adults and 10.7 percent of youth were Hispanic/
Latino in cases in which race/ethnicity was specified.
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005 195