Citation

Clayton RR, Sloboda Z, Page B. J. Drug Iss. 2009; 39(1): 41-55.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Florida State University, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice)

DOI

10.1177/002204260903900105

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The discipline of epidemiology utilizes the constructs of agent, host, vector, and environment to study the incidence and prevalence (i.e., the nature, extent, distribution, correlates) and the contexts, and consequences of drug abuse in the United States. This paper provides a selected review of the results of 40 years of epidemiological study of drug abuse using surveillance systems, general population surveys, ethnography and qualitative research approaches. It then addresses the challenges in conducting research on drug abuse epidemiology. The paper concludes with some missed opportunities and lessons learned in four decades of a large portfolio of research studies conducted by an impressive array of distinguished scientists.

Language: en