NCJ Number
218580
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 251-263
Date Published
May 2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study estimated the number of diagnoses attributable to the use of illegal drugs in acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitalizations, admissions in specialized treatment, and number of days in treatment in Canada during 2002.
Abstract
Results indicated that in 2002 there were 61,026 illegal drug-related diagnoses in acute care hospitals, 1,517 psychiatric hospitalizations, and 139,773 admissions to specialized treatment in Canada. Length of treatment stay came to 352,121 days in acute care hospitals, 31,508 days in psychiatric hospitals, and 2,851,829 days in specialized treatment. The findings revealed that drug use is a major contributor of morbidity in Canada, particularly when compared to estimates from 1992, which were significantly lower for illegal drug diagnoses and morbidity. The authors suggest that a combination of prevention and harm reduction strategies may reduce the burden of morbidity associated with illegal drug use in Canada. Data were drawn from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), which keeps figures on the number of diagnoses in acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and number of hospital days. Data on the number of admissions and number of days in specialized inpatient and outpatient treatment for illegal drug dependency was obtained from provincial ministerial officials and drug addiction program coordinators. Basic descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Future research should focus on how other countries have reduced illegal drug use among their populations. Tables, note, references, appendix