Treatment demand indicator (TDI) standard protocol 3.0

Guidelines for reporting data on people entering drug treatment in European countries

Metaúdaje publikácie

Understanding the nature and scale of the drugs problem is critical for effective policymaking and action. As such, the EMCDDA uses a variety of monitoring methods and tools that offer countries a ‘common language’ with which to interpret the drugs phenomenon. Among these instruments are the five key epidemiological indicators, one of which is the Treatment demand indicator (TDI). The purpose of the TDI, which was established in 2000 following the work of the Council of Europe cooperation group to combat drug use and illicit trafficking (the Pompidou Group), is to gather comparable and... reliable information on the number and characteristics of drug users presenting for treatment in EU Member States. It provides a measure of treatment demand, indicates trends in the extent of problem drug use and provides profiles of problem drug users, while also identifying patterns in the use and uptake of treatment facilities. This manual presents a revised edition of the TDI protocol (version 2.0). After 10 years of data collection at the European level using this protocol, modification is now required so the TDI can better reflect the changes that have occurred over this period not only in the situation of drug use, but also in the treatment system and national and international information systems. The revised protocol (version 3.0) represents a significant step forward for the indicator, and has been made possible thanks to the coordinated effort and commitment, for over 2 years, of the national TDI experts and national focal points together with the EMCDDA.