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Estimating hidden populations: a new method of calculating the prevalence of drug‐injecting and non‐injecting female street prostitution
Author(s) -
BLOOR MICHAEL,
LEYLAND ALASTAIR,
BARNARD MARINA,
McKEGANEY NEIL
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01733.x
Subject(s) - drug , demography , medicine , environmental health , criminology , computer science , geography , psychology , pharmacology , sociology
This paper outlines a new method we have developed for estimating the prevalence of streetworking prostitution and the proportions of female street‐working prostitutes who are injecting drug users. This method is based on the capture/recapture approach and involves distinguishing new fieldwork contacts from repeat field work contacts. The size of the overall population can be modelled from records of the increasing ratio of repeat to new fieldwork contacts. The method may have a relevance beyond a concern with prostitution and drug injecting, and may be of value in estimating other hidden populations.