Dataset Information

Leveraging crowdsourcing methods to collect qualitative data in addiction science: Narratives of non-medical prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl use.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Online crowdsourcing methods have proved useful for studies of diverse designs in the behavioral and addiction sciences. The remote and online setting of crowdsourcing research may provide easier access to unique participant populations and improved comfort for these participants in sharing sensitive health or behavioral information. To date, few studies have evaluated the use of qualitative research methods on crowdsourcing platforms and even fewer have evaluated the quality of data gathered. The purpose of the present analysis was to document the feasibility and validity of using crowdsourcing techniques for collecting qualitative data among people who use drugs.

Methods

Participants (N?=?60) with a history of non-medical prescription opioid use with transition to heroin or fentanyl use were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk). A battery of qualitative questions was included indexing beliefs and behaviors surrounding opioid use, transition pathways to heroin and/or fentanyl use, and drug-related contacts with structural institutions (e.g., health care, criminal justice).

Results

Qualitative data recruitment was feasible as evidenced by the rapid sampling of a relatively large number of participants from diverse geographic regions. Computerized text analysis indicated high ratings of authenticity for the provided narratives. These authenticity percentiles were higher than the average of general normative writing samples as well as than those collected in experimental settings.

Conclusions

These findings support the feasibility and quality of qualitative data collected in online settings, broadly, and crowdsourced settings, specifically. Future work among people who use drugs may leverage crowdsourcing methods and the access to hard-to-sample populations to complement existing studies in the human laboratory and clinic as well as those using other digital technology methods.

SUBMITTER: Strickland JC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6957729 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Leveraging crowdsourcing methods to collect qualitative data in addiction science: Narratives of non-medical prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl use.

Strickland Justin C JC Victor Grant A GA

The International journal on drug policy 20191118

<h4>Background</h4>Online crowdsourcing methods have proved useful for studies of diverse designs in the behavioral and addiction sciences. The remote and online setting of crowdsourcing research may provide easier access to unique participant populations and improved comfort for these participants in sharing sensitive health or behavioral information. To date, few studies have evaluated the use of qualitative research methods on crowdsourcing platforms and even fewer have evaluated the quality ...[more]

PMID: 31751813

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Project description:US opioid overdose death rates have increased between 2000 and 2014. While, the increase in prescription opioid use has been linked to the increase in heroin use, there are reasons to view this relationship as a partial explanation for the recent increase in heroin-related harms. This study documents the differences in trends in prescription opioid overdose-related (POD) and heroin overdose-related (HOD) hospitalizations.Data come from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) for the years 2000 through 2014. POD and HOD hospitalizations were abstracted from ICD-9 codes. Rates of POD and HOD by census region and census division were constructed along with separate rates for age and race. Regression analysis analyzing trends across region were estimated along with graphs for documenting differences in POD and HOD rates.POD hospitalization rates were highest in the South and lowest in the Northeast. HOD hospitalization rates were highest in the Northeast region and grew the fastest in the Midwest. There was statistically significant heterogeneity in HOD trends but not POD trends across the four regions between 2000 and 2014. Between 2012 and 2014 POD rates decreased in eight of the nine census divisions, with only New England showing an increase. HOD hospitalization rates increased in all nine census divisions between 2012 and 2014. Both POD and HOD rates show different demographic patterns across the nine census divisions.Comparing POD and HOD hospitalization trends reveals significant disparities in geographic as well as demographic distributions. These epidemics are evolving and the simple opioid-to-heroin transition story is both supported and challenged by this paper. The opioid pill, heroin and fentanyl crises are intertwined yet increasingly have drivers and outcomes that support examining them as distinct. Addressing these complex and interrelated epidemics will require innovative public health research and interventions which need to consider local and regional contexts.

Project description:ImportanceThere is concern that nonmedical prescription opioid use is associated with an increased risk of later heroin use initiation in adolescents, but to our knowledge, longitudinal data addressing this topic are lacking.ObjectiveTo determine whether nonmedical prescription opioid use is associated with subsequent initiation of heroin use in adolescents.Design, setting, and participantsThis prospective longitudinal cohort study conducted in 10 high schools in Los Angeles, California, administered 8 semiannual surveys from 9th through 12th grade that assessed nonmedical prescription opioid use, heroin use, and other factors from October 2013 to July 2017. Students were baseline never users of heroin recruited through convenience sampling. Cox regression models tested nonmedical prescription opioid use statuses at survey waves 1 through 7 as a time-varying and time-lagged regressor and subsequent heroin use initiation across waves 2 to 8 as the outcome.ExposuresSelf-reported nonmedical prescription opioid use (past 30-day [current] use vs past 6-month [prior] use without past 30-day use vs no past 6-month use) at each wave from 1 to 7.Main outcomes and measuresSelf-reported heroin use initiation (yes/no) during waves 2 to 8.ResultsOf 3298 participants, 1775 (53.9%) were adolescent girls, 1563 (48.3%) were Hispanic, 548 (17.0%) were Asian, 155 (4.8%) were African American, 529 (16.4%) were non-Hispanic white, and 220 (6.8%) were multiracial. Among baseline never users of heroin in ninth grade with valid data (3298 [97% of cohort enrollees]; mean [SD] age, 14.6 [0.4] years), the number of individuals with outcome data available at each follow-up ranged from 2987 (90.6%) to 3200 (97.0%). The mean per-wave prevalence of prior and current nonmedical prescription opioid use from waves 1 to 7 was 1.9% and 2.7%, respectively. Seventy students (2.1%) initiated heroin use during waves 2 to 8. Prior vs no (hazard ratio, 3.59; 95% CI, 2.14-6.01; P?<?.001) and current vs no (hazard ratio, 4.37; 95% CI, 2.80-6.81; P?<?.001) nonmedical prescription opioid use were positively associated with subsequent heroin use initiation. For no, prior, and current nonmedical prescription opioid use statuses at waves 1 to 7, the estimated cumulative probabilities of subsequent heroin use initiation by wave 8 (42-month follow-up) were 1.7%, 10.7%, and 13.1%, respectively. In covariate-adjusted models, associations were attenuated but remained statistically significant and current nonmedical prescription opioid use risk estimates were stronger than corresponding associations of nonopioid substance use with subsequent heroin use initiation.Conclusions and relevanceNonmedical prescription opioid use was prospectively associated with subsequent heroin use initiation during 4 years of adolescence among Los Angeles youth. Further research is needed to understand whether this association is causal.

Dataset Information

Leveraging crowdsourcing methods to collect qualitative data in addiction science: Narratives of non-medical prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl use.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Leveraging crowdsourcing methods to collect qualitative data in addiction science: Narratives of non-medical prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl use.

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