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September 16, 2010
Measuring misuse of prescription opioids
More Canadians than ever are using prescription opioids (POs). With an increase in related overdose deaths and demand for addiction treatment, misuse of these powerful drugs is becoming "a major health problem" says Health Sciences researcher Benedikt Fischer. The challenge is in determining the scope of the problem: Fischer's newest study concludes there is no standardized approach for assessing the prevalence of PO abuse in North America. The result: potentially inaccurate findings for Canada. "One in 200 Canadians over 15 was found to have misused POs in the past year--a rate highly inconsistent with U.S. levels, where PO misuse has been measured about ten times higher. Getting the definitions and measurements for PO misuse right is essential to the development of adequate and targeted interventions. Our findings underscore how limited our science still is in this important area of health research."
Benedikt Fischer, 778.782.5148; bfischer@sfu.ca
More Canadians than ever are using prescription opioids (POs). With an increase in related overdose deaths and demand for addiction treatment, misuse of these powerful drugs is becoming "a major health problem" says Health Sciences researcher Benedikt Fischer. The challenge is in determining the scope of the problem: Fischer's newest study concludes there is no standardized approach for assessing the prevalence of PO abuse in North America. The result: potentially inaccurate findings for Canada. "One in 200 Canadians over 15 was found to have misused POs in the past year--a rate highly inconsistent with U.S. levels, where PO misuse has been measured about ten times higher. Getting the definitions and measurements for PO misuse right is essential to the development of adequate and targeted interventions. Our findings underscore how limited our science still is in this important area of health research."
Benedikt Fischer, 778.782.5148; bfischer@sfu.ca