A year ago (May 2014), the Institute of Scientific and Technological Health Communication and Information (Icict/Fiocruz) was chosen upon bid notice of the National Secretary for Drug Policy (Senad) of the Prosecutors Office to hold the 3rdNational Survey on Drug Use among Brazilian people. The work, which will take place throughout the national territory, is being done in partnership with several researchers of the Foundation and external institutions as well, and has the support of the Foundation for Scientific and Technological Health Development (Fiotec).
This third survey is special: it will also focus on rural areas, where15% of the population live, and borders, as Brazil borders with other countries in the North, Midwest and South. According to the researcher at the Health Information Laboratory (Lis/Icict), Francisco Inácio Bastos, national coordinator of the research by Fiocruz, "this survey will be more complete, because it will fully incorporate these specific issues."
Another point highlighted by the researcher of Icict is that during the research, in addition to direct questions to interviewees on aspects of use, they will also be asked about their personal networks, "we ask about the characteristics of people with whom they have contact, which are the networks of every person, and define a estimation strategy which we call indirect estimate”, said Bastos.
The research is already happening in several Brazilian cities and will be the largest ever done in Brazil, surpassing the National Survey on the Use of Crack, also done by Icict/ Fiocruz. About400 researchers will be traveling to Brazilian cities going to households to interview about 20 thousand people. Information gathering is expected to close in September, then the data tabulations begin, followed by analysis. Results are expected in 2016.
Neilane Bertoni, vice-coordinator of the survey and an associate research of the Laboratory, highlights the role of the team that will be in the field conducting interviews, "they will go to households in uniformwith shirts and badges of the research, and will deliver letters in selected households and all information needed so residents can identify them”. When in doubt, people can call the coordination of the project,which is headquartered at Fiocruz, in Rio de Janeiro (telephone 21 3865-3292), and confirm the identification of the teams that are on the streets.
The researcher makes it clear that the research is not only to check the use of drugs by the population, but it is "fundamentally to check the impact of drugs on public health," and thusplan strategies in health care to address the problem. Francisco Inácio Bastos also highlights the importance of addressing this serious public health problem, "the only way to face it is to have quality data, so each interviewee is giving its contribution to the advancement of knowledge, as these issues affect everyone, individuals, families and society in Brazil and in various countries around the world."
Source:Fiocruz News Agency
