Degenhardt Louisa, Larney Sarah, Gisev Natasa, Trevena Judy, Burns Lucy, Kimber Jo, Shanahan Marian, Butler Tony, Mattick Richard P, Weatherburn Don
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales; 2. Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2014 Apr;38(2):165-70. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12123.
There are few data about the incarceration of opioid-dependent people involving large representative cohorts. We aimed to determine the prevalence and duration of incarceration in a large cohort of opioid-dependent people in Australia using data linkage methods, and estimate the costs associated with their incarceration.Method: Retrospective linkage study of all entrants to opioid substitution therapy (OST) for the treatment of opioid dependence in NSW, 1985–2010, with data on incarceration, 2000-2012. The number and duration of incarcerations were calculated. The average daily cost of incarceration was applied to days of incarceration in the cohort.Results: Among 47,196 opioid-dependent people, 37% (43% of men and 24% of women) had at least one episode of incarceration lasting one or more days. Men had a median of three(ranging between 1-47) incarcerations, and women, two (1-35). Indigenous men spent 23% of follow-up time incarcerated, compared with 8% for non-Indigenous men; similarly, Indigenous women spent a substantially greater proportion of time incarcerated than non-Indigenous women (8% vs. 2%). Costs of incarceration of this cohort between 2000 and 2012 totalled nearly AUD $3 billion.Conclusions: This is the first study to examine incarceration of opioid-dependent people across an entire population of such users. Our findings suggest that a substantial minority of opioid-dependent people experience incarceration, usually on multiple occasions and at significant cost. Treatment for opioid dependence, inside and outside prisons, may help reduce incarceration of this cohort.
关于涉及大量具有代表性队列的阿片类药物依赖者被监禁情况的数据很少。我们旨在使用数据链接方法确定澳大利亚一大群阿片类药物依赖者的监禁患病率和持续时间，并估算与他们被监禁相关的成本。方法：对1985 - 2010年新南威尔士州接受阿片类药物替代疗法（OST）治疗阿片类药物依赖的所有参与者与2000 - 2012年的监禁数据进行回顾性链接研究。计算监禁的次数和持续时间。将监禁的平均每日成本应用于该队列中的监禁天数。结果：在47196名阿片类药物依赖者中，37%（男性为43%，女性为24%）至少有一次持续一天或更长时间的监禁事件。男性的监禁中位数为3次（范围在1 - 47次之间），女性为2次（1 - 35次）。原住民男性在随访期间有23%的时间被监禁，而非原住民男性为8%；同样，原住民女性被监禁的时间比例也比非原住民女性高得多（8%对2%）。该队列在2000年至2012年期间的监禁成本总计近30亿澳元。结论：这是第一项研究整个此类使用者群体中阿片类药物依赖者被监禁情况的研究。我们的研究结果表明，相当一部分阿片类药物依赖者会经历监禁，通常是多次，且成本高昂。监狱内外针对阿片类药物依赖的治疗可能有助于减少该队列的监禁情况。
