California State Epidemiological Profile: Patterns of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) consumption and consequences

In partnership with the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP), the Epidemiology and Prevention for Injury Control (EPIC) Branch of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is conducting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funded State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup Project for California. The project-specific objectives are to produce both state and community level profiles of ATOD use and consequence patterns. The state-specific objectives are to build state and local capacity to conduct ongoing ATOD surveillance and epidemiological analyses to inform prevention policy and program planning and development.

This presentation will provide an overview of the project and its initial products. It will review the processes and criteria used for selecting state and county-level data sources and indicators. Selected prevalence numbers and rates, and trend data from the second statewide ATOD profile will be presented on student, college, and adult consumption patterns and on adolescent and adult health, traffic, crime, and public services consequences. The continued high levels of tobacco and alcohol use and their negative impacts are highlighted. The growing use by adolescents of non-prescription painkillers and the continued increases in methamphetamine use within the state are also noted. A sub-set of these indicators will also be presented for a sample of county-level profiles. State and selected county comparisons are provided. Building the analytic capacity of policy makers and program staff to interpret and use these population-based data, including technical, contextual, and theoretical issues, will be discussed.