See Involving PWUD in the Design of the Model on page 14 of toolkit pdf

Frequency and location of narcotic-related incidents (NRI)

– Strengths—Provides quantitative and geospatial
presentation of data; data updated frequently;
allows for quantification of resources allocated
to address overdose epidemic; sometimes
differentiates overdoses that occur in a residential
setting versus a “public” setting (e.g. street,
shelter, public restroom, etc.), which allows mobile
programs to prioritize highly vulnerable populations

– Weaknesses—Incidents captured only if someone
called 911 (data incomplete); categorization of
incident as an NRI made by paramedics, often
with incomplete information (some incidents
may be misclassified); data may not be readily
accessible and often has delayed release and
presented in aggregate form; privacy concerns
may limit access to such data; demographic
information not always captured

SSPs often have information on population needs, service utilization and health indicators such as overdose history and naloxone rescues from participants

– Strengths—Demonstrate service needs
and utilization in high-risk population; often
trusted resource for PWUD with unique
and invaluable insights

– Weaknesses—Not all regions have nearby
SSPs; SSPs may be under-resourced and have
difficulty managing data requests; maintaining
confidentiality is crucial and could complicate
sharing of some data

Municipal areas that track nonemergency constituent requests may capture indicators of high-risk activity or populations. Useful indicators may include (1) reports of improperly discarded syringes, or (2) homeless encampments

– Strengths—3-1-1 data are often public; may
reveal trends traditional data sources miss; data
updated frequently

– Weaknesses—Less-established or utilized
3-1-1 systems may have few data points; 3-1-1
systems may not be designed for data extraction;
neighborhoods more likely to report incidents may
not align with the neighborhood who experience
the highest number of incidents

Frequency and location of deaths where overdose was the cause 

– Strengths—Robust dataset with a lot of information 

– Weaknesses—Typically very delayed data source,
data may be months/years old; privacy concerns
may limit access to such data

Frequency and location of involuntary commitments of individuals who have SUD 

– Strengths—May be indicative of a high-risk
population, but likely most helpful as
a supplemental source

– Weaknesses—Smaller sampling than other data
sources; privacy concerns may limit access to
such data

Frequency, demographic information, location and chief complaint data for regional hospitals

– Strengths—Timely information about emergency
department visits related to drug use/overdose

– Weaknesses—Does not account for drug events
that do not result in hospital visit; data might not
be readily accessible depending on region; chief
complaint data may be non-specific, resulting in
underreporting and miscategorization 

Frequency of drug-related arrests may point to areas of high need

– Strengths—Police departments may have robust
data sets that allow precision in pinpointing
high-risk activity

– Weaknesses—Data may not be accessible
by public; arrests offer incomplete picture

Incidence and location of Hepatitis C and HIV diagnoses may indicate high-risk activity

– Strengths—Epidemiologic reports and data are
typically accessible in any region; provides baseline
data which can help demonstrate impact of
harm reduction work and unmet needs of PWUD;
longitudinal data may provide trends over time 

– Weaknesses—Hepatitis C is not reportable in

all states; data reports can be quite delayed;
health departments may have incomplete data
on risk for Hepatitis C and HIV cases; diseases
are underreported

Provide qualitative data on experiences with PWUD including areas of high need, service utilization and barriers to care

– Strengths—Diverse perspectives and experience;
lays foundation for future collaboration on mobile
health project

– Weaknesses—Time-and-resource intensive;
number of available stakeholder agencies varies
greatly by region