West Virginia's Department of Health and Human Resources reports that West Virginia's rate of prescription drug abuse treatment admissions is more than four times that of the national average (13.1 vs. 3.1%), having increased by approximately 42% between 1998-2002 alone. Not surprisingly, West Virginia experienced a 550% increase in unintentional poisonings from 1999-2004, the nation's greatest increase. The West Virginia Prescription Drug Abuse Quitline (WVPDAQ) was designed and implemented as one critical part of a comprehensive plan to address this issue with the goals of outreach, service, and research.
Design:
Implemented in September, 2008, the WVPDAQ is a population-based intervention that addresses many barriers individuals face when considering treatment or utilization of services, particularly important for isolated populations in Appalachia. Caller information is confidential, access is broad, and time restrictions and transportation challenges are minimized. Preliminary WVPDAQ process evaluation and caller characteristics are provided.
Results:
The WVPDAQ initially operated remotely via broadband 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, owing to the topography of West Virginia. However, cost effective analysis revealed remote operation to be unsustainable and operations were shifted to a traditional land-based phone line in March 2009. In addition, caller utilization patterns suggested little activity between midnight and 8 a.m., so hours were adjusted. To date, the WVPDAQ has received a total of 366 calls, completed 343 intake surveys, and 79 follow-up surveys. The majority of callers (59%) call for themselves; are female (60%); have insurance (55%) and a GED/high school diploma (77%); and are Caucasian (90%). Most callers (77%) report buying their drugs from the street, and half report buying them from friends or family. Contrary to published reports, 93% of callers report they do not “doctor shop” for their drugs. Data will be updated for the presentation, including the computation of inferential statistics across surveys, as the number of calls increases confidence in the findings. Implications of the evaluation findings will be discussed.
See more of: AAHE Research Coordinating Board