What is DAWN and How Does it Work?
If you watch the news or listen to the radio you might have heard of DAWN. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DAWN stands for Drug Abuse Warning Network. It is a reporting system so that mental health officials can keep track of drug abuse trends throughout the country. Although technically DAWN itself has been discontinued, the information is still being collected and compiled so that doctors and mental health professionals can see trends in drug abuse.
Who Reports to DAWN?
Most emergency departments report to the DAWN system. Any short term facility that deals with drug addiction, abuse, and the consequences of taking drugs, send their statistics to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Many short term treatment centers report to DAWN.
This is no to say that your personal information is included in this reporting and it should not stop you from seeking treatment. If you need help for a drug addiction immediately, call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) . We can help you find the treatment center you need without compromising your privacy.
Ways to View the DAWN Data
Any facility that deals with drug addiction reports their statistics to DAWN.
There are a variety of ways you can access and read the DAWN data. It can give you a good picture of what is going on with drug addiction, abuse, and treatment. A few of these ways are:
- Emergency Department Reports – these are the reports coming directly from emergency rooms across the country
- National Data – this is a compilation of the statistics across the nation
- Short Reports – short reports are quick facts about mental health and substance abuse trends and statistics
- Methodology – methodology is a report on how the data was collected as well as any inaccuracies that might be present
Many of these reports are then cut down to trends for specific drugs. This way researchers and other interested parties can tell where more preventative measures and treatment facilities are needed.
Where is the Data Collected From
The data comes from a variety of sources. A few of these sources are:
- Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities
- Outpatient Client Data
- Self Reported Data
- Data from Specific Populations
- Emergency Department Data
- Mental Health Facilities
What they submit to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration are simply numbers. In no way does this data collection violate your privacy, use names, or addresses in order to get these statistics.
DAWN’s History and Future
DAWN was established by the DEA in the early 1970s. It was designed to help law enforcement and medical personnel identify the drugs that were currently popular to develop treatments for them. Since drug culture is ever changing this information is particularly important to emergency personnel. It helps them to know what they are dealing with.
At the end of 2016 DAWN will be taken over by the National Hospital Care Survey. It will report the same data on a broader scale. They are taking over to streamline the process of reporting. It will also help to identify which areas are in crisis and which are not.
If you are in crisis and need help with your drug addiction, the DAWN system can also help to identify specialized care in your area. If you need help overcoming addiction, call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) . We can help identify the best treatment options in your area.