ROMANIAN MONITORIN CENTRE for DRUGS and DRUG ADDICTION - ACTION PLAN 2002-2004

JANUARY- JUNE 2002

  • Developing the strategy and the action plan for ROMANIAN MONITORING CENTRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION / NFP (National Focal Point)
  • Presenting this strategy and the action plan to ICFAD (Inter-ministerial Committee for Fight Against Drugs)
  • Identifying the main indicators in order to achieve the objectives listed in the strategy; establish the priorities- see Annex 1
  • Training the national experts- courses REITOX, EMCDDA, twinning programs etc.

JULY-DECEMBER 2002

  • Design a pilot study “Drug-related Treatment Demand”-see Annex 2
  • Training NFP personal: databases management/ Office/ SPSS/foreign languages etc
  • Edit the questionnaires for the study “Drug-related Treatment Demand”-see Annex 2
  • Edit an Informational Map- data sources, contact persons etc- see Annex 3
  • Edit and signing Memorandums of Understanding between the NFP and the Institutions identified in the Informational Map
  • Elaborating the National Country Report on 2001; NFP becomes Monitoring Center

JANUARY- JUNE 2003

  • Data collection for the study “Drug-related Treatment Demand”
  • Design a pilot study “Drug-related Deaths” – Annex 4
  • Meetings with all the possible data sources- reciprocal visits; checking the questionnaires etc
  • Edit the questionnaires for the study “Drug-related Deaths”
  • First steps in order to develop a Documentation Center- location, equipment, sources etc
  • Joining a Scientific Committee for the Monitoring Center-Annex 6

JULY-DECEMBER 2003

  • Data collection for the study “Drug-related deaths”
  • Data analyses for the study “Drug-related Treatment Demand”
  • Elaborating and publishing a report after the analyses
  • Collecting some general data in order to estimate the number of HIV due to IDU; contact the County Health Services and the Ministry Of Health to gather all data available
  • Elaborating the National Country Report on 2002; presenting it first to the Scientific Committee and then to ICFAD
  • Elaborating a report to ICFAD, with the problems encountered in 2002, the stage of data collection, the relations between all the Institutions etc.

JANUARY-JUNE 2004

  • Data collection for the study “Drug-related Deaths”
  • Exploring the possibility of introducing a set of questions about drugs in the social/health studies made by the National Institute of Statistics, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education etc
  • Working at the Documentation Center
  • Specialized courses for NFP personal- SAS/SPSS/databases management etc
  • Prospecting the possibility of collecting data about the supply indicator: arrested persons, price of drugs, captures etc
  • Exploring the technical possibilities of a study about infectious drug diseases- HIV/VHB/VHC. Prospecting the financial sources- internal and external- Annex 7

JULY-DECEMBER 2004

  • Data analyses for the study “Drug-related Deaths”
  • Elaborating the National Country Report on 2003
  • Editing an annual report for ICFAD
  • First estimation about the prevalence of problematic drug users in Bucharest
  • Working at the Documentation Center

ANNEX 1- SELECTING AND ARANGING THE INDICATORS

  1. DEMAND FOR TREATMENT
  • Key indicator EMCDDA
  • Illustrates the tendency of “problematic” drug abuse- Heroin, Cocaine etc
  • Authorized data- Treatment Centers; “Obregia” Hospital etc
  • It can be used, altogether with the Drug-related deaths to evaluate the prevalence of “ problematic” drug abuse- by using some indirect tools (capture- recapture, multipliers method etc)
  1. DRUG-RELATED DEATHS
  • Key indicator EMCDDA
  • Major problem for public health
  • Cheap
  • Authorized data- National Forensic Institute
  1. INFECTIOUS DISEASES
  • Key indicator EMCDDA
  • There are some very serious infectious diseases like HIV/VHB/VHC related to drug abuse that caused severe public health problems in some countries
  • Authorized data- Infectious diseases hospitals
  1. GENERAL POPULATION SURVEY
  • Key indicator EMCDDA
  • Expensive- possible cost reduction by using some public health general polls
  • Offers the possibility to measure some unique aspects: prevalence of “legal” drug abuse like alcohol, cigarettes etc
  • The only method to determine population’s attitude about drug abuse phenomenon, preventive measures and programs etc
  1. PREVALENCE ESTIMATE
  • Key indicator EMCDDA
  • It uses information provided by previous indicators
  • Complex, necessitating special tools: (capture- recapture, multipliers method etc)
  1. DRUG SUPPLY OFFERT
  • Studies the drug abuse
  1. SCHOLAR INVESTIGATIONS
  • It studies a risk population
  • ESPAD data available
  • Cheap

ANNEX 2- TREATMENT DEMAND INDICATOR

  • Reasons, objectives and biography
  • Choosing time and area frames- Bucharest, July 2003-June 2004
  • Adapting ”EMCDDA Recommended Draft Technical Tools and Guidelines Key Epidemiological Indicator: Demand for treatment by drug users” : case definition/ questionnaire/ notifications/ data sources and their characteristics etc
  • Elaborating a follow-up and analyses plan

ANNEX 4- DRUG RELATED DEATHS

  • Reasons, objectives and biography
  • Choosing time and area frames- Bucharest, 2000-2002
  • Elaborating a methodology for this indicator, based upon National Forensic Institute’s registers:

Case definition; admission criteria

Type of questionnaire- variables, drug types etc

Identifying data sources and the characteristics of them

  • Adapting “EMCDDA Recommended Draft Guidelines Key Epidemiological Indicator: Drug-related deaths and mortality in drug users. a) Acute (direct) drug-related deaths”
  • Elaborating a plan in order to check our methodology with the National Forensic Institute’s one

ANNEX 7- INFECTIOUS DISEASES (HIV/VHB/VHC)

  • Reasons
  • General and specific objectives; hypothesis
  • Methodology:

Case definition (exclusion and inclusion criteria)

Sample definition

Sample size- like 150…200 persons

Methods and tools for collecting data (questionnaire, HIV test)

Data analyses

Time schedule

Available and necessaries resources

Budget