Conducting Rapid Street Assessment of Drug Users in New York City Using Oral Fluid and Brief Interviews: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

This study piloted the feasibility of rapidly collecting both self-reports of drug use and saliva specimens for drug toxicology in field settings. The use of oral fluid collection devices to supplement self-reports is unproven in street settings and may pose challenges for field research. Sixty adults who identified as recent illicit drug users were recruited in public settings in New York City and were asked to complete a brief drug screening inventory and provided saliva specimens. Descriptive findings are detailed along with critical best research practices and limitations that provide important directions for researchers looking to employ both toxicology and self-report in rapid field recruitment designs.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug abuse screening
• oral fluid
• saliva
• toxicology
• street drug users
• rapid assessment

NOTE

Notes

a. An estimated 7 out of 25 past 30-day self-reported methadone users/patients were illicit methadone users, according to survey responses and field notes. One of these participants refused to provide a saliva specimen, and of the remaining six, two screened positive for methadone. This relative proportion of illicit methadone users is not high, noting, however, the procedures and non-probability sample employed. Illicit or “street” methadone is often diverted from patients for multiple and complex reasons worthy of further investigation beyond the aims of this pilot study.