Annex 3 - Changes to the formats for data collection:
Standard Table 3, Standard Table 4, TDI by centre type
1) Proposal discussed with the national experts on treatment demand indicator
A) Introduction
Subject:
Proposals for changes in the guidelines for data collection on treatment demand indicator, concerning standard table 3 and standard table 4 and detailed TDI data by type of treatment centre
Rationale:
After three years from the first extended data collection in treatment demand indicator there is a need for review; an assessment of data quality has been carried out by Luis Royuela Morales, indicating some need for changes and the experience of collection, checking and analysis of data have shown the areas where rationalisations are needed. The changes could consist in removal of data or tables which are not be considered useful for analysis, and minor modifications to facilitate the analysis
General objective:
To rationalise the data collection form in order to increase the effectiveness of the collected information, in order to obtain useful data, with the as least efforts as possible on experts/focal points submitting data
Conclusions; changes will be discussed:
- during the next expert meeting in September (22-23/9/2004) with the experts of the European on treatment demand indicator
- during the NFPs working group meeting on Guidelines on 7-8 October
- during the next REITOX meeting (3-5/11/2004) with the Heads of the NFPs and approval of the changes together with the general guidelines for annual reporting (National Reports, Tables, Questionnaires)
B) List of proposals for changes
- Removing Standard Table 4 (ST4)
- Removing Standard Table 3 (ST3), only in case detailed TDI excel sheet have a full coverage on all types of treatment centres
- Simplify comments in TDI excel sheets
- Simplify the categories not known/missing
- Creation of automatic procedure to calculate main drugs
- Simplify Tables 4 and 14
- Table 4 as basis reference
- Change Tables 9 and 10
- Removing Table 11 Nationality
- Remove Table 15
- Change in tables 16, 17, 18
C) Proposals for change: detailed description
For each proposals a description and rationale for change is given
1. Removing Standard Table 4 (ST4)
Eliminate the ST4 for the countries who have provided ST 4 in 2004 for the 2003 reporting year; for the other countries who have not provided Standard Table 4 in 2004, the ST 4 should be provided in 2005 with the data 2004 and all the data referred to previous years for all available years; after that standard table 4 should be eliminated completely
Rationale:
Data collected with ST4 are now recorded in the database and the provision of previous data is not necessary anymore since is already recorded in the system for analysis. To have the same baseline for all the countries and the same reporting years in the past is nevertheless important for European analysis
Countries who can eliminate ST 4 in 2005:
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Sweden, Slovakia
Countries who have to provide only partial information in 2005 (if available; if not available, please explain why):
- Austria: on all the treatment not covering substitution treatments
- Czech Republic: data on all treatments starting from 2001 up to available previous years
- France: all and first treatment for the following years: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
- Ireland: data on 2003 and data from 2000 up to all previous available years
- Luxembourg: data on first treatments before 2002
- Poland: data on first treatments
- Slovenia, from 2001 up to all previous available years
Countries who have to provide ST for all data:
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Portugal
- Turkey
(At the time when we wrote this document data from Belgium, Romania, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom were not provided yet: we can’t verify what should be provided next year)
2. Removing Standard Table 3 (ST3), only in case detailed TDI excel sheet have a full coverage on all types of treatment centres
ST 3 is produced automatically by the detailed excel sheets and if the detailed have a complete national coverage ST3 should be directly produced from the detailed data by treatment centre.
Fill in the detailed data sheets and ST 3 is produced automatically; the aggregation of the single ST3 produced automatically will be done at the EMCDDA.
This will only apply when a country has the full coverage on all the centre types and a control on double counting at national as well as at centre type level.
Rationale:
Since ST 3 is produced automatically through the detailed TDI excel sheets, it is not useful to continue to collect the same data in two different forms; nevertheless in order to have comparable data between countries and with previous years, we should reach a common situation; once having reached that point we could drop completely this table
3. Simplify comments in TDI excel sheets
From Table 4 up to table 20.1 the comments are divided in many questions and it is now proposed to simplify the comments in two questions, leaving more free space for possible more detailed explanations:
- If no information is available to cover the item and its categories, please describe the reasons for it and the current activities in order to reach the objectives
- If your information does not exactly cover the item and its categories, please explain the reasons for it and the differences
Rationale:
From the experience of the last three years the space for comments in the excel sheets are rarely filled in and just few lines when is necessary to explain lack of consistency, missing data, differences, etc.; in addition explanations could be very different depending on the country situation. It is therefore more rational to leave just few lines with the most important questions and free space for comments and explanation.
4. Simplify the categories not known/missing
The categories “not known” and “missing” should be put together under only one category. The category “not known” should be replaced by “not known/missing”.
Rationale:
Reasons to keep the categories “not known” and “missing” separated are related to interview methods, which do not have a rationale in the case of national data collection. It is therefore more efficient to put the two categories together.
5. Creation of automatic procedure to calculate main drugs
For all the tables where main drugs and subcategories by drug are included, the EMCDDA is requested to create formulas in order to produce automatically the total by category (main drug
Rationale
In order to make the data collection more efficient it would be easy for countries to have the total by category calculated automatically; this would also allow a control on data quality
6. Simplify Tables 4 and 14
Transform the variables:
- Never treated/Previously treated/Not Known/Total
As follow:
- First Treated/Previously Treated/Not Known-Missing
Rationale:
In all the tables and in the TDI Protocol the terms used for people never treated before and people who have been already in treatment before are First Clients and All Clients: the same terminology should be used in all the tables in order to be consistent.
7. Table 4 as basis reference
We suggest using Table 4 as a basis reference for the absolute numbers of new clients, all clients, men, women, missing/not known. The figures reported in this table will be used for analysis and calculation and the basis used will be always the same
Rationale:
From the report on data quality and from the analysis carried out during these three years, the need for a basis for calculation was identified. It is necessary to have an agreed table of reference for the numbers of clients reported as asking treatment
8. Change Tables 9 and 10
Add First Treatments to tables 9 and 10 on living status.
Rationale:
In order to be consistent with the other socio-demographic information where data on first treatments are collected, data on first clients should be also collected for living status. In addition when doing an analysis on profile of clients to have a complete picture on new and all clients appeared to be necessary.
9.Removing Table 11 Nationality
The table will be removed
Rationale:
The table distinguishes between national of the country, EU citizens and non-EU. Data are not very informative and in fact does not provide information on minorities as it was intended.
Several reasons have taken to this proposal: data are not disaggregated by country of origin, nationality does not have any meaning in term of ethnicity, often countries are not allowed by law to register nationality. In addition now the variable on EU citizens includes all the new member states and the target population is even more enlarged. Finally often the information is missing. The main problem arising from this change is that it implies a change in the TDI Protocol.
Ethnic minority audit could be taken up by working group to consider possible future directions
10. Remove Table 15
Table 15 on substitution treatment should be removed
Rationale:
Table 15 was collected in order to better understand substitution treatment among clients in treatment and possible misuse of methadone. The table is quite complicated and in fact only few countries are able to fill in this table. It is therefore proposed to remove the table
11. Change in tables 16, 17, 18
Add gender breakdown to tables 16 – Route of administration-, 17 – Frequency of use-, 18 – Age at first use. If data on gender breakdown are not available, fill in the “MALES” table and replace “MALES” by “TOTAL”, like for Tables 14.1 and 19.1.
Rationale:
Information on gender is necessary to have a basic profile of patterns of use of clients and route of administration, frequency and age at first use are relevant information to this end
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