TY - JOUR
T1 - Estimating the number of people who inject drugs in a rural county in Appalachia
AU - Allen, Sean T.
AU - O'Rourke, Allison
AU - White, Rebecca Hamilton
AU - Schneider, Kristin E.
AU - Kilkenny, Michael
AU - Sherman, Susan G.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This research has been facilitated by the infrastructure and resources provided by the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research, a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded program (grant P30AI094189). S. T. Allen is also supported by the NIH (grant K01DA046234). K. E. Schneider is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant 5T32DA007292-25).
Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This research has been facilitated by the infrastructure and resources provided by the Johns HopkinsUniversityCenterforAIDSResearch,aNational Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded program (grant P30AI094189). S. T. Allen is also supported by the NIH (grant K01DA046234). K. E. Schneider is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant 5T32DA007292-25). We are grateful for the collaboration of the Cabell-HuntingtonHealthDepartment,withoutwhichthisproject would not have been possible. We are especially grateful to Tim Hazelett, Thommy Hill, Tyler Deering, Kathleen Napier, Jeff Keatley, Michelle Perdue, Chad Helig, and Charles “CK” Babcock for all their support throughout the study implementation. We are also grateful for the hard work of the West Virginia COUNTS! research team: Megan Keith, Anne Maynard, Aspen McCorkle, Terrance Purnell, Ronaldo Ramirez, Kayla Rodriguez, Lauren Shappell, Brad Silberzahn, Dominic Thomas, Kevin Williams, and Hayat Yusuf. We gratefully acknowledge the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. We also wish to acknowledge Josh Sharfstein, Michelle Spencer, Dori Henry, and Akola Francis for their support throughout each phase of the study. Most importantly, we are grateful to our study participants.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Public Health Association Inc.. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Objectives. To demonstrate how we applied the capture-recapture method for population estimation directly in a rural Appalachian county (Cabell County, WV) to estimate the number of people who inject drugs (PWID). Methods. We conducted 2 separate 2-week periods of data collection in June (“capture”) and July (“recapture”) 2018. We recruited PWID from a syringe services program and in community locations where PWID were known to congregate. Participants completed a survey that included measures related to sociodemographics, substance use, and HIV and hepatitis C virus prevention. Results. In total, 797 surveys were completed; of these surveys, 49.6% (n = 395) reflected PWID who reported injection drug use in the past 6 months and Cabell County residence. We estimated that there were 1857 (95% confidence interval = 1147, 2567) PWID in Cabell County. Among these individuals, most reported being White (83.4%), younger than 40 years (70.9%), and male (59.5%). The majority reported injecting heroin (82.0%), methamphetamine (71.0%), and fentanyl (56.3%) in the past 6 months. Conclusions. Capture-recapture methods can be applied in rural settings to estimate the size of PWID populations.
AB - Objectives. To demonstrate how we applied the capture-recapture method for population estimation directly in a rural Appalachian county (Cabell County, WV) to estimate the number of people who inject drugs (PWID). Methods. We conducted 2 separate 2-week periods of data collection in June (“capture”) and July (“recapture”) 2018. We recruited PWID from a syringe services program and in community locations where PWID were known to congregate. Participants completed a survey that included measures related to sociodemographics, substance use, and HIV and hepatitis C virus prevention. Results. In total, 797 surveys were completed; of these surveys, 49.6% (n = 395) reflected PWID who reported injection drug use in the past 6 months and Cabell County residence. We estimated that there were 1857 (95% confidence interval = 1147, 2567) PWID in Cabell County. Among these individuals, most reported being White (83.4%), younger than 40 years (70.9%), and male (59.5%). The majority reported injecting heroin (82.0%), methamphetamine (71.0%), and fentanyl (56.3%) in the past 6 months. Conclusions. Capture-recapture methods can be applied in rural settings to estimate the size of PWID populations.
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U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304873
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304873
M3 - Article
C2 - 30676803
AN - SCOPUS:85061128495
VL - 109
SP - 445
EP - 450
JO - American Journal of Public Health
JF - American Journal of Public Health
SN - 0090-0036
IS - 3
ER -