This study estimated the lifetime prevalence of substance use problems among registered nurses using capture-recapture methods with two separate items indicating a history of substance use problems from the same questionnaire. Capture-recapture methods yielded an estimate of 6.4 percent of nurses with a history of substance use problems, a 22 percent increase in the estimate from the data as collected. Among respondents indicating no history of problems, a substantial number reported substance use behavior that was as high as those in the reported problem group, suggesting that the estimate of additional unreported cases (from capture-recapture) is plausible. This estimate should be valuable for planning preventive initiatives for nurses, and the methodology should invite further consideration of multiple measures of a variable as sources to estimate prevalence using capture-recapture methods.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Medical Association, Council on Mental Health1973The sick physician: Impairment by psychiatric disorders, including alcoholism and drug dependence. Journal of the American Medical Association223:684–687.
2.
American Nurses Association1984Addiction and Psychological Dysfunctions in Nursing. Kansas City, MO: American Nurses Association.
3.
American Psychiatric Association1994Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
4.
AquilinoW.1994Interview mode effects in surveys of drug and alcohol use. Public Opinion Quarterly58:210–40.
5.
AquilinoW.LoSciutoL.1990Effect of interview mode on self-reported drug use. Public Opinion Quarterly54:362–95.
6.
BissellL.HabermanP.W.1984Alcoholism in the Professions. New York: Oxford University Press.
7.
BrennerH.1994Application of capture-recapture methods for disease monitoring: Potential effects of imperfect record linkage. Methods of Information in Medicine33:502–506.
8.
BrennerH.StegmaierC.ZieglerH.1995Estimating completeness of cancer registration: An empirical evaluation of the two source capture-recapture approach in Germany. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health49:426–430.
9.
BrewsterJ.M.1994Drug use among Canadian professionals. Canada: Ministry of National Health and Welfare.
10.
ChangY.F.McMahonJ.E.HennonD.L.LaPorteR.E.CobenJ.H.1997Dog bite incidence in the city of Pittsburgh: A capture-recapture approach. American Journal of Public Health87:1703–1705.
11.
EgelandG.M.Perham-HesterK.A.HookE.B.1995Use of capture-recapture analysis in fetal alcohol syndrome surveillance in Alaska. American Journal of Epidemiology141:335–341.
12.
FrischerM.1992Estimated prevalence of injecting drug use in Glasgow. British Journal of Addiction87:235–243.
13.
HaackM.R.HarfordT.C.1984Drinking patterns among student nurses. International Journal of the Addictions19:577–583.
14.
HaackM.R.HughesT.L.1988Addiction in the Nursing Profession. New York: Springer Publishing Company, Inc.
15.
HendrixM.J.SabrittD.McDanielA.FieldB.1987Perceptions and attitudes toward nursing impairment. Research in Nursing and Health10:323–333.
16.
HookE.B.RegalR.R.1995Capture-recapture methods in epidemiology: Methods and limitations. Epidemiology Reviews17:243–264.
17.
HserY.I.1993Population estimation of illicit drug users in Los Angeles County. Journal of Drug Issues23:323–34.
18.
RoyalR.M.CumberlandW.G.1981An empirical study of the ratio estimator and estimators of its variance. Journal of the American Statistical Association76:66–77.
19.
SullivanE.BissellL.WilliamsE.1988Chemical Dependency in Nursing. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
20.
SurkinJ.SmithM.PenmanA.CurrierM.HarkeyH.L.ChangY.F.1998Spinal cord injury incidence in Mississippi: A capture-recapture approach. Journal of Trauma45:502–504 March 8, 1999.
21.
ThompsonS.K.1992Sampling. New York: Wiley and Sons.
22.
TourangeauR.SmithT.1996Asking sensitive questions: The impact of data collection mode, question format and question context. Public Opinion Quarterly60:275–304.
23.
TrinkoffA.M.StorrC.L.1997aIncorporating auxiliary variables into probability sampling designs. Nursing Research46:182–185.
24.
TrinkoffA.M.StorrC.L.1997bCollecting substance use data with an anonymous mailed survey. Drug and Alcohol Dependence48:1–8.
25.
TurnerC.F.LesslerJ.T.GfroererJ., eds. 1992Survey Measurement of Drug Use: Methodological Issues. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse DHHS Publication (ADM) 92-1929.
26.
WisemanE.J.HeithoffK.A.1996Comparison of DSM-III-R symptoms for alcohol dependence between patient self-report and clinician interview or the structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R. Journal of Addictive Diseases15:43–54.
