There are few data about the
incarceration of opioid-dependent people involving large representative
cohorts. We aimed to determine the prevalence and duration of incarceration in
a large cohort of opioid-dependent people in Australia using data linkage methods,
and estimate the costs associated with their incarceration.
Retrospective linkage study of all entrants to opioid substitution therapy
(OST) for the treatment of opioid dependence in NSW, 1985–2010, with data on
incarceration, 2000-2012. The number and duration of incarcerations were
calculated. The average daily cost of incarceration was applied to days of
incarceration in the cohort.
Among 47,196 opioid-dependent people, 37%
(43% of men and 24% of women) had at least one episode of incarceration lasting
one or more days. Men had a median of three(ranging between 1-47)
incarcerations, and women, two (1-35). Indigenous men spent 23% of follow-up
time incarcerated, compared with 8% for non-Indigenous men; similarly,
Indigenous women spent a substantially greater proportion of time incarcerated
than non-Indigenous women (8% vs. 2%). Costs of incarceration of this cohort
between 2000 and 2012 totalled nearly AUD $3 billion.
This is the
first study to examine incarceration of opioid-dependent people across an
entire population of such users. Our findings suggest that a substantial
minority of opioid-dependent people experience incarceration, usually on
multiple occasions and at significant cost. Treatment for opioid dependence, inside
and outside prisons, may help reduce incarceration of this cohort.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/2PzGpO
By:
- 1National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales; 2. Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria. l.degenhardt@unsw.edu.au
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