29.06.2013 Views

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

DAWN LIVE!<br />

The new DAWN includes capability for “real-time”<br />

surveillance of ED visits through DAWN Live!, an<br />

online data system. Access to DAWN Live! is limited<br />

to authorized users. Data in DAWN Live! are raw and<br />

unweighted reports of individual cases from participating<br />

hospitals. The data from one hospital may not<br />

be representative of all cases in the area; other hospitals<br />

may treat different types of cases or users of different<br />

drugs. Also, data from some hospitals may be<br />

reported more rapidly than data from other hospitals.<br />

DAWN Live! does not produce estimates (i.e., measures<br />

extrapolated from sample data to an entire universe<br />

(e.g., to an entire metropolitan area).<br />

In examining DAWN Live! data, it is important to<br />

consider how many hospitals are reporting and the<br />

completeness of their data.<br />

330<br />

<strong>EPIDEMIOLOGIC</strong> TRENDS IN <strong>DRUG</strong> <strong>ABUSE</strong>—Appendix A<br />

Since DAWN Live! data are raw and unweighted,<br />

they cannot be generalized to the entire metropolitan<br />

area. However they can help answer the following<br />

questions:<br />

• What is the nature of the drug-related ED visits<br />

in participating hospitals?<br />

• What drugs were involved?<br />

• What was the relative mix of case types?<br />

DAWN Live! data can also prove useful in identifying<br />

in a timely fashion the emergence of new drugs in<br />

an area and provide some insights into who is using<br />

these drugs and the associated health consequences.<br />

Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!