Open AccessESTIMATES OF THE NUMBER OF REGULAR ILLEGAL OPIATE USERS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA: AN UPDATE AND EVALUATION
Author(s) -
Marlowe Rhett,
Cooke Richard,
Farmer Ann
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
community health studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 0314-9021
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1988.tb00592.x
Subject(s) - reliability (semiconductor) , opiate , variance (accounting) , population , statistics , demography , sample (material) , environmental health , geography , econometrics , medicine , mathematics , business , sociology , power (physics) , chemistry , physics , receptor , accounting , chromatography , quantum mechanics
A revised capture‐recapture formula is used to provide estimates of the number of regular illegal opiate users in South Australia in the early 1980s and to compare these with those of the mid 1970s. Using sample size and variance as reliability criteria, no conclusion could be reached regarding any change in the prevalence of opiate users. The assumptions of the capture‐recapture method were also examined, especially the possible effect of assumption violations on estimate reliability and validity. The major threat to reliability is the probable violation of the assumption that all population members have the same chance of being sampled. The utility of the capture‐recapture method is not in providing precise estimates, but rather in identifying trends in the prevalence of illegal opiate use.