First created in 2004 and subsequently incorporated as a formal subcommittee of the Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership, the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group membership is composed of statisticians, data analysts, academics, holders of key datasets, and other key stakeholders from various state and federal agencies, tribal entities, private and non-profit substance abuse-related organizations, and universities.

Mission and Goals

The mission of the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group is to provide communities, policymakers and local, state and tribal officials with data on the use of alcohol and illicit, over-the-counter, and prescription drugs to inform their substance abuse prevention and intervention strategies.
In line with its mission, the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group has four main goals:

• Compile and synthesize information and data on substance abuse and its associated consequences and correlates, including mental illness and emerging trends, through a collaborative and cooperative data-sharing process;
• Assess substance abuse treatment service capacity in Arizona and detail gaps in service availability;
• Serve as a resource to the Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership and member agencies to support data-driven decision-making that makes the best use of the resources available to address substance abuse and related issues in Arizona; and
• Identify data gaps and address them in order to provide Arizona with a comprehensive picture of substance abuse in the state.

Background

• The Epidemiology Work Group was established in 2004 to produce the state’s first Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile,a comprehensive, informative, and functional profile of substance abuse data for use by community coalitions, agencies, policymakers and other interested individuals in relevant fields. The report was used to inform the state’s efforts by providing data and suggesting priorities.
• In fall 2007, the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group released an updated profile which highlighted trends using current substance abuse data to monitor progress in the state’s priority areas and to report on the data gaps addressed by the state and the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group since the publication of the first profile.
• In 2007, the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group also published an abbreviated profile, entitled The Impact of Substance Abuse: A Snapshot of Arizona.
• The most recent Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile,completed in 2009, provides current data to help inform future planning efforts and serves as a mechanism for monitoring changes in substance abuse indicators.

Data Availability

Data included in the 2009 Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile and community-level data are now available on an interactive, user-friendly website. This newly-developed site allows users to select from approximately 100 data elements that have been selected based upon their identification as causal or contextual factors or outcomes associated with substance abuse (e.g., past 30-day youth alcohol use; alcohol-related crashes; primary substance reported at treatment, substance-abuse related hospital admissions and emergency department visits). The site has interactive mapping and data file functions that allow users to compare data at different geographic levels (e.g., state, county, coalition) most relevant to their work and have those data delivered in a variety of formats (e.g., maps, Microsoft Excel tables, graphs). This is a dynamic website, with data continually being added to increase its utility.

Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group Meetings

The Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group currently meets on the third Wednesday of even months and maintains records of all meetings, which are open to members of the public. Agenda items are set based upon the group’s strategic plan deliverables and goals as well as upon the needs and suggestions of the public and member agencies.

This biennial report provides state, county, and community-level data on substance abuse prevalence and its related consequences in Arizona to help inform future planning efforts and provides a mechanism for monitoring changes in substance abuse over time. Additionally, it reports on the data gaps addressed by the state and the Epi Work Group since the publication of the first profile in 2005.

Data for 14 demographic elements, 10 risk factor elements, and 8 consumption indicators are examined at a sub-county level known as a Community Health Analysis Area (CHAA) within the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile. The CHAA is a geographic segment used by the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Bureau of Public Health Statistics for public health surveillance. The CHAA is large enough to provide a population size meaningful for statistical analysis but small enough to capture geographic variations and maintain a sense of community or neighborhood. The document posted here details the cities and towns that are located within each of the state’s 126 CHAAs.

This report details Arizona’s capacity to provide substance abuse treatment services to those in need of such treatment and describes the collaborative efforts undertaken by multiple agencies to determine this information. Data collected by the Arizona Department of Health Services, Division of Behavioral Health Services; the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and the Substance Abuse Epidemiology Work Group were used to inform this report.