Appendix B:
Pulse Check Methodology
Since its first publication in 1992, the Pulse Check has provided the most current intelligence about drug markets and patterns of drug abuse nation-wide. The Pulse Check draws on discussions with ethnographers and epidemiologists working in the drug field, law enforcement agents, and drug treatment providers across the country. Approximately seventy-five people are called for each report.
- Ethnographers, Epidemiologists, and Other Ethnographic Sources
- Police Sources
- Treatment Providers
- Topics of Discussion
Ethnographers, Epidemiologists, and other Ethnographic Sources
Ethnography is a mode of research that analyzes the behavior of groups in the natural settings in which these behaviors occur. Ethnographers use field observations and interviews to gather data. Ethnography is not undercover work. Rather, the ethnographer, who is fully revealed as a social science researcher, enters the drug user’s world to record and describe it "on its own terms," that is, without predetermined ideas.
Epidemiologists are also consulted for the Pulse Check. Epidemiologists study the origins, spread, and control of diseases, in a general public health paradigm. In the field of substance abuse, they track changes in patterns of drug use, including the incidence and prevalence of the use of specific drugs, characteristics of users, and emerging trends. Many epidemiologists who report for the Pulse Check are members of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Community Epidemiology Working Group (CEWG).
Other ethnographers, such as sociologists and psychologists who use ethnographic research techniques, also are included as sources for the Pulse Check.
The ethnographic sources contacted by Pulse Check include some of the best known drug researchers in the country. In some cases, they are trained ethnographers; in other cases, they are epidemiologists with access to ethnographic information; a few are social researchers working in a field site collecting ethnographic data. Reporters are generally the same for each round of calls.
The following twelve ethnographers, epidemiologists, and other ethnographic sources from urban areas were contacted for this issue of Pulse Check:
Austin, TX: Jane Maxwell, M.A. Director of Needs Assessment Department, Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Bridgeport, CT: Garry Geter. Addictions Counselor, Connecticut Department of Health.
Chicago, IL: Wayne Weibel, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Director ofCommunity Outreach Intervention Projects, University of Illinois School of Public Health.
Denver, CO: Stephen Koester, Ph.D. Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Miami, FL: Bryan Page, Ph.D. Professor of Anthropology and Psychiatry and Deputy Director, Center for the Biopsychosocial Study of AIDS, University of Miami.
Newark, DE: Mario Pazzaglini, Ph.D. Private Consultant to State of Delaware and several drug treatment facilities. Formerly with the State of Delaware, Bureau of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the University of Delaware.
New York, NY: Doug Goldsmith, M.A. Ethnographer, NDRI (a non-profit drug research company).
New York, NY: John Galea, M.A. Chief of Ethnography, New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. Former Commanding Officer of the New York City Police Department Youth Gang Intelligence Unit.
San Antonio/El Paso, TX: Reyes Ramos, Ph.D. Professor of Health Sciences, University of Texas.
San Diego, CA: Susan Pennell, M.A. Director, Criminal Justice Research Division, San Diego Association of Governments.
Trenton/Newark, NJ: John French, M.A. Chief Epidemiologist, New Jersey Department of Public Health.
Police Sources
Police sources are drawn from the Abt staff's existing contacts within law enforcement and from contacts developed through the recommendations of law enforcement agencies. These sources are typically officers working on special squads, narcotics task forces, and DEA agents.
This issue of Pulse Check reached police sources in six cities. Reporters are generally the same for each round of calls; however, when police contacts must change as officers take on new positions, replacements are typically made on the recommendation of the officer who had been the Pulse Check reporter.
Treatment Providers
The sample of treatment providers is derived from the National Facility Register, a directory of treatment programs compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, from which this sample from the Uniform Facility Data Set (formerly theNational Drug Abuse Treatment Unit Survey) is drawn within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The listings are divided into four regions that have a similar number of treatment programs and are treated equally for sampling. The states in each region are listed below.
- Region I: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania
- Region II: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia
- Region III: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
- Region IV: Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon
This Pulse Check incorporates the comments of 61 treatment providers. From each of the four regions listed above, 20 large (over 100 clients) programs and 20 small (under 100 clients) programs were identified, 10 to 15 of each type were contacted, and the remaining 5 served as replacements. The samples are stratified to include equal numbers of large and small programs.
Topics of Discussion
Below is a sample of topics that are raised with Pulse Check reporters.
ETHNOGRAPHERS, EPIDEMIOLOGISTS, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT SOURCES
- Level of illicit drug use in the community. Changes in the use of drugs over the last six months.
- Age, ethnicity, and sex of users in your area.
- Frequency of use, prevailing routes of administration. Changes over the last six months.
- Who is selling. Changes in this group over the last six months. Other drugs sold by this group.
- Current prices. Changes in prices over the last six months. Typical units of purchase.
TREATMENT PROVIDERS
- Proportion of population reporting heroin/cocaine/marijuana/alcohol as the primary drug of abuse.
- Proportion of population that is injecting versus inhaling/smoking the drug. Changes in this proportion over the last six months.
- Characteristics (age, ethnicity, and sex) of clients.
- Proportion of population that has had prior treatment.
