Telephone surveying for drug abuse: methodological issues and an application.

In light of New York State's experience, it is probable that future household drug use surveys will use telephone administration. Drug use questions are not as sensitive as had been thought, and are easily administered by telephone. In addition, the lower costs, the computer-assisted capabilities, and the saving in time are some of the advantages in comparison to face-to-face surveying. In order to address the nontelephone segments of the household population--despite their declining proportion--and to improve response rates, mixed-mode interviewing may have to be considered. Given a better understanding of telephone-associated behavior and the increasing popularity of technological advances, such as the portability and mobility of phones, telephone surveying may become even more attractive in the future.