Problem drug use prevalence estimation revisited: heterogeneity in capture-recapture and the role of external evidence.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Capture-recapture (CRC) analysis is recommended for estimating the prevalence of problem drug use or people who inject drugs (PWID). We aim to demonstrate how naive application of CRC can lead to highly misleading results, and to suggest how the problems might be overcome.

Methods

We present a case study of estimating the prevalence of PWID in Bristol, UK, applying CRC to lists in contact with three services. We assess: (i) sensitivity of results to different versions of the dominant (treatment) list: specifically, to inclusion of non-incident cases and of those who were referred directly from one of the other services; (ii) the impact of accounting for a novel covariate, housing instability; and (iii) consistency of CRC estimates with drug-related mortal

SUBMITTER: Jones HE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4981907 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature