European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Praça Europa 1, Cais do Sodré, 1249-289, Lisbon, Portugal.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Praça Europa 1, Cais do Sodré, 1249-289, Lisbon, Portugal.
Int J Drug Policy. 2019 Nov;73:235-244. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.03.014. Epub 2019 Apr 9.
Most comparative drug policy analyses utilise measures of drug use, often from general population surveys (GPS). However, the limitations of GPS are well-recognised, including the small numbers of people who use illicit drugs sampled. Web surveys offer a potential solution to such issues. Therefore EMCDDA conducted a study to assess the potential for using such surveys to supplement information obtained from GPS.
The European Web Survey on Drugs (EWSD) asked about use of cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine and MDMA in 14 countries from 2016 to 2018. Each participant country translated the questionnaire as necessary and devised its own sampling strategy. Individuals aged 18+, resident in the participant country, who had used one or more of the drugs covered by the survey in the past 12 months were included in the analysis. Participation was anonymous and voluntary.
More than 40,000 people completed the survey, with recruitment mostly through social media. Larger samples of users of all drug types than found in GPS were generally obtained. However, the respondent profiles differed markedly between countries, e.g. the proportion aged 18-24 ranged from 30% to 80%. The results relating to use showed both inter-country similarities and differences, e.g. mean daily amounts of cocaine used varied between countries but increases in amounts used with increased frequency of use were similar. Price data showed good external validity.
Web surveys offer the possibility of collecting information from large numbers people who use illicit drugs quickly and cheaply and can fill important gaps in our knowledge of patterns of use, particularly by recreational users. However, they also have limitations. Standardising questionnaires and approaches to data cleaning and analysis facilitates comparisons between countries but obtaining comparable samples may be challenging. Multinational surveys need to balance standardisation of methods with responsiveness to differing country contexts; our collaborative model does this.
大多数比较药物政策分析都使用药物使用数据，这些数据通常来自一般人群调查（GPS）。然而，GPS 的局限性是众所周知的，包括抽样的非法药物使用者人数较少。网络调查为此提供了一种潜在的解决方案。因此，欧洲毒品和毒瘾监测中心（EMCDDA）开展了一项研究，以评估使用此类调查来补充从 GPS 获得的信息的潜力。
欧洲毒品网络调查（EWSD）于 2016 年至 2018 年在 14 个国家调查了大麻、苯丙胺、可卡因和 MDMA 的使用情况。每个参与国根据需要翻译问卷，并设计了自己的抽样策略。参与分析的人员为年龄在 18 岁及以上、居住在参与国、在过去 12 个月内使用过调查涵盖的一种或多种药物的个人。参与是匿名和自愿的。
超过 40000 人完成了调查，主要通过社交媒体进行招募。与 GPS 相比，通常可以获得各种药物使用者的更大样本。然而，各国的受访者概况差异显著，例如 18-24 岁年龄段的比例从 30%到 80%不等。与使用相关的结果既显示了国家间的相似性，也显示了国家间的差异，例如各国使用的可卡因的平均日剂量不同，但随着使用频率的增加，使用量的增加情况相似。价格数据显示出良好的外部有效性。
网络调查提供了一种快速、廉价地从大量非法药物使用者那里收集信息的可能性，可以填补我们对使用模式的知识空白，特别是对娱乐性使用者。然而，它们也有局限性。标准化问卷以及数据清理和分析方法有助于国家间的比较，但获得可比的样本可能具有挑战性。跨国调查需要在方法标准化与对不同国家背景的响应之间取得平衡；我们的合作模式就是这样做的。
