NIDA Notes - NIDA's Epidemiological Compasses Director's Column Volume 15, Number 3 NIDA's Epidemiological Compasses NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner NIDA uses two epidemiological tracking programs to document the size of the drug abuse problem, spot trends, pinpoint the groups in the Nation's population that are most in need of prevention and treatment, and assess the effectiveness of interventions.
Epidemiology is the science of identifying trends and patterns in the occurrence of health problems.
Epidemiological studies advance NIDA's mission by gauging the scope and nature of the Nation's drug problems and providing information fundamental to improving treatment and prevention. NIDA sponsors two major epidemiological tracking programs. MTF provides a sensitive register of trends and patterns of drug use among youth. CEWG gathers information from State and local law enforcement agencies, survey data, and a variety of public health services. The researchers review data on drug-related deaths and emergency department visits, admissions to drug abuse treatment programs, drug arrests, and drug test results among arrestees.