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Biomedical subjects

R S Simeone

Publications and source records attributed to R S Simeone.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

A plan for estimating the number of "hardcore" drug users in the United States.

This paper describes a program of research that would allow the size, characteristics, and geographic distribution of the "hardcore" population of drug users in the United States to be monitored over time. The program is conceived as a complement to and extension of existing federal data collection initiatives. It involves the development of mathematical models of drug use careers, and the use of these models to estimate the size of the "hardcore" population of drug users within selected geographic areas. These local area estimates are then used in conjunction with more readily available information to estimate the size of the "hardcore" population of drug users in the country as a whole.

Bias

Estimating the size of a heroin-using population: an examination of the use of treatment admissions data.

This paper examines the feasibility of using information on treatment admissions to infer the size of a heroin-using population. Several variants of capture-recapture and truncated Poisson models which have been used for this purpose are assessed here, and are generally found to be unsuited to the task at hand. A cohort model is developed which is consistent with the dynamics of drug use and help-seeking behavior, and which would allow estimation of the size of the treatment susceptible or "inbound" population, but its information requirements are difficult to meet. The analysis suggests that capture-recapture and truncated Poisson models should be evaluated in terms of their potential for reformulation and application within the present context, or alternatively, that other methods be developed for this purpose.

Cohort Studies

Needs assessment in substance misuse: a comparison of approaches and case study.

Public policy practitioners are often confronted with the problem of "needs assessment." But needs can be defined and measured in many ways, and often in pursuit of fundamentally different ends. This paper provides a brief paradigmatic comparison of two alternative approaches to the problem of needs assessment in the area of substance misuse, and it concludes with a case study describing the implementation of a model developed by the New York State Division of Substance Abuse Services.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

A note on waiting lists and demand estimation.

Much debate has taken place in the public policy arena concerning the issue of treatment on demand. This article provides a brief discussion of the potential uses of waiting list information in estimating the level of capacity required to address "expressed" demand. A model developed for this purpose is amenable to integration with planning and budgeting processes. Limitations of the model are examined, and possible directions for refinement are suggested.

Cohort Studies