title: Respondent-driven sampling in the recruitment of illicit stimulant drug users in a rural setting: findings and technical issues.
abstract: Increasingly, respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is being applied to study not-in-treatment users of illicit drugs. Although RDS has been successfully applied in recruiting active users in densely-populated, metropolitan areas, its utility with hidden populations in rural areas has yet to be determined. This study critically evaluates the sample of not-in-treatment, illicit stimulant drug users (n=249) recruited from the application of RDS in three rural counties in west-central Ohio. The findings of this study largely support the results of earlier studies in urban areas and suggest that RDS is a useful method of sampling hidden drug using populations in less densely populated rural areas. Some limitations of RDS are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Center for Interventions, Treatment and Addictions Research Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, 110 Med Sci, Dayton, OH 45435, USA. jichuan.wang@wright.edu
authors.forename: Jichuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Russel S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Falck
authors.forename: Linna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ahmmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009820:Ohio / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D018579:Patient Selection; D012423:Rural Health; D012494:Sampling Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012931:Social Environment; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs