TY - JOUR
T1 - Creating a robust coordinated data and policy framework for addressing substance use issues in the United States
AU - Chen, Qiushi
AU - Sterner, Glenn
AU - Rhubart, Danielle
AU - Newton, Robert
AU - Shaw, Bethany
AU - Scanlon, Dennis
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - The ongoing opioid epidemic has been met with the inadequate use of data-informed approaches to respond to the crisis. Although data relevant to opioid and substance use do exist and have been utilized for research in the literature and practice, they have not been prepared for cross-sector coordination and for providing practical intelligence to inform policy planning directly. In this article, we share our views on how data can better serve the purposes of informing policy and planning to maximize population health and safety benefits. Based on our experience in advising state policymakers on developing settlement allocation strategies based on empirical data, we discuss several issues in the data, including coverage, specificity in drug types, time relevance, geographic units, and access, which may hinder data-informed policymaking. Following these discussions, we envision a coordinated data and policy framework as an ideal case to ensure access to meaningful and timely data and harness the full potential of the data to inform policy to combat the continuing epidemic.
AB - The ongoing opioid epidemic has been met with the inadequate use of data-informed approaches to respond to the crisis. Although data relevant to opioid and substance use do exist and have been utilized for research in the literature and practice, they have not been prepared for cross-sector coordination and for providing practical intelligence to inform policy planning directly. In this article, we share our views on how data can better serve the purposes of informing policy and planning to maximize population health and safety benefits. Based on our experience in advising state policymakers on developing settlement allocation strategies based on empirical data, we discuss several issues in the data, including coverage, specificity in drug types, time relevance, geographic units, and access, which may hinder data-informed policymaking. Following these discussions, we envision a coordinated data and policy framework as an ideal case to ensure access to meaningful and timely data and harness the full potential of the data to inform policy to combat the continuing epidemic.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104629
DO - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104629
M3 - Article
C2 - 39509940
AN - SCOPUS:85208171888
SN - 0955-3959
VL - 134
JO - International Journal of Drug Policy
JF - International Journal of Drug Policy
M1 - 104629
ER -