In late 2001, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine received a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study stimulant abuse in rural areas in Ohio. The study was conducted with people living in rural counties north of Dayton who were involved with either crack cocaine, cocaine HCl, and/or methamphetamine. The study focused on the course of substance abuse as well as how stimulant abusers interacted with the health care system, including drug abuse treatment programs.
By focusing on stimulant abuse, this research provided important data relating aspects of rural life with the phenomena of drug abuse and health service use. The overall goal of the study was to recruit 225 active stimulant users and interview them every six months over a three-year period. A natural history design was used to examine substance abuse practices, health care needs, barriers to obtaining care, and service utilization patterns over time.
The value of this research is its potential to broaden and deepen our understanding of drug abusers and health seeking behaviors in rural areas. Practically, the data provided by this study can help treatment and prevention professionals provide programs that are more attractive to drug abusers in rural areas. It can also help policy makers and funders better understand the needs of rural communities.
This study ended in June 2008.
Staff Contact Information
- Robert Carlson, Ph.D., Principal Investigator. (robert.carlson@wright.edu)
- Russel Falck, M.A., Associate Professor Emeritus, Co-Principal Investigator. (russel.falck@wright.edu)
- Jichuan Wang, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Co-Principal Investigator (jichuan.wang@wright.edu)
Publications
- Carlson, R.G., Sexton, R., Wang, J., Falck, R., Leukefeld, G.G., and Booth, B.M. (2010). Predictors of substance abuse treatment entry among rural illicit stimulant users in Ohio, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Subst Abus, 31(1):1-7. [Abstract]
- Draus, P.J., and Carlson, R.G. (2006). Needles in the haystacks: The social context of initiation to heroin injection in rural Ohio. Substance Use and Misuse 41:1111-1124.
- Draus, P.J., Siegal, H.A., Carlson, R.G., Falck, R.S., Wang, J. (2005). Cracking the cornfields: Recruiting illicit stimulant drug users in rural Ohio. Sociological Quarterly, 46:165-189.
- Falck, R.S., Siegal, H.A., Wang, J., Carlson, R.G., Draus, P.J. (2005). Non-medical drug use among adults in small towns in Ohio. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 28(4):341-9. [Abstract]
- Falck R.S., Wang J., Carlson R.G. Health status of illicit stimulant drug users in rural Ohio. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2007 Nov;Suppl 4:401-5. PMID: 18284105 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] [Abstract]
- Falck, R.S., Wang, J., Carlson, R.G., Krishnan, L.L., Leukefeld, C., Booth, B.M. (2007). Perceived need for substance abuse treatment among illicit stimulant drug users in rural areas of Ohio, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 91(2-3);107-114. [Abstract.]
- Siegal, H.A., Draus, P.J., Carlson, R.G., Falck, R.S., and Wang, J. (2006). Perspectives on health among adult users of illicit stimulant drugs in rural Ohio. Journal of Rural Health, 22(2):169-173. [Abstract]
- Wang, J., Carlson, R.G., Falck, R.S., Leukefeld, C., Booth, B.M. (2007). Multi-sample standardization and decomposition analysis: An application to comparisons of methamphetamine use among rural drug users in three American states. Statistics in Medicine, 26(19):3612-3623. [Abstract]
- Wang, J., Falck, R.S., Li, L., Rahman, A., Carlson, R.G. (2007) Respondent-driven sampling in the recruitment of illicit stimulant drug users in a rural setting: Findings and technical issues. Addictive Behaviors, 32(5):924-37. [Abstract]