Critical appraisal of evidence on drug testing services at music festivals

This critique aims to determine whether the implementation of drug testing services positively affects drug user behaviour by attendees of music festivals or it actually condones it. The critique outcomes will form the basis for providing informed advice to Emily’s mother.

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Evidence for Practice
Student name:
Student number:
HLSC122 Semester 1, 2019
Assessment 3: Critical appraisal of evidence
Word count: 1,224
Name/No.

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Full Reference
Day, N., Criss, J., Griffiths, B., Gujral, S. K., John-Leader, F., Johnston, J., & Pit, S.
(2018).
Music festival attendees’ illicit drug use, knowledge and practices regarding drug
content and purity: a cross-sectional survey. Harm reduction journal, 15(1), 1-8.
doi: 10.1186/s12954-017-0205-7
Introduction
Over 8.5 million teenagers aged 14 years were found to have used illegal drugs in their
lifetime, with the age group of 20-29 years accounting for 28.2% and having used the
drugs within the past year (AIHW, 2017). As a result, strategies such as drug testing
services have been actualized to help reduce the consequences of the use of illegal
drugs. However, the effectiveness of such a strategy has vehemently been criticized
and supported at the same time by different entities. The purpose of this critique is to
determine whether the implementation of drug testing services positively affects drug
user behaviour by attendees of music festivals or it actually condones it. The critique
outcomes will form the basis for providing informed advice to Emily’s mother.
PART A
Authorship
The authors of the article by Day et al. (2018) are experts in the field of human health
based on their affiliations. For example, they are affiliated to the school of medicine,
medical school among others. The contributions of the authors were also varied and
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probably based on their area of specialization. But all the seven authors had at least two
contributions in the research. These affiliations are an indication of a wealth of
experience in the area of research thus improving the credibility of the research.
Since the authors are experts in the field of human health especially on drugs and
alcohol, this may create some grounds for conflicts of interest. It may be that some of
them would want to carry out the same study but in a different context with different
experts.
Research Question
The research question is “what is the knowledge and practices of the attendees of a
music festival that consume illicit drug about the content and purity of the drugs?”
Over 8.5 million teenagers aged 14 years were found to have used illegal drugs in their
lifetime, with the age group of 20-29 years accounting for 28.2% and having used the
drugs within the past year (AIHW, 2017). Studies have indicated that the attendees of
music festivals are the heaviest consumers of illicit drugs across the globe (Roman-
Urrestarazu et al., 2018). Similar trends have also been observed in Australia with 52%
of the attendees of music festivals having consented to the use of illegal drugs within a
month. Drug testing services is a strategy that has been implemented in music festivals
to help reduce the harm caused by drug use. However, the approach has received a lot
of criticism from different lobby groups. Some have contended that the strategy
positively impacts drug user behaviour (Groves, 2018), others opine that it encourages
and supports drug use (Gotsis, Angus & Roth, 2016) and that there is no evidence of its
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effectiveness. Hence, the study purposes to determine whether drug testing services at
music festivals are effective by assessing the knowledge and attitude of the attendees.
Research Design
A survey research design was used. The justification for the use of a research survey
was based on three studies that had been conducted previously on a relatively same
area of study. Furthermore, the authors assert that the research team were
professionals in the fields of research in alcohol and drugs and public health. A survey
research design was appropriate for the study because they provide important
information to evaluate programs in institutions or government such as the one for drug
testing services.
Research Methods
The inclusion criteria were used in the recruitment of the study participants. The
respondents had to be attendees of the music festivals and aged 18-30 years. An
inclusion criterion is important because it helps produces reliable results. Data was
collected using questionnaires which were independently filled and dropped in a survey
box for purposes of confidentiality. There was one open-ended question which was
thematically coded. Open-ended questions provide the opportunity of the respondents
expressing themselves better and providing more information, however, it might
generate large amounts of data thus making it difficult to analyze. Questionnaires are
standardized and have no opportunity of explanation leading to misinterpretation, but
they are also appropriate for large samples. Data analysis was conducted using a
descriptive analysis approach in which the relationships between categorical variables
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were determined using chi-square tests and for continuous variables, t-tests were used.
The descriptive analysis permits multiple approaches in data analysis and thus
producing credible output due to a variety of tests (Greenhalgh, Bidewell, Crisp,
Lambros, & Warland, 2016).
Results and Limitations
The findings of the research answer the research question of the study. The authors
found out that 73.4% of the respondents had consumed illegal drugs in the previous
year. Over 85% of the participants agreed that the use of drug checking services at
festivals would positively impact their behaviour of drug use.
The limitations of the research significantly and in multiple ways affect its application.
The use of a convenience sample limits its representativeness to the overall population.
This implies that the findings are not actually true regarding the overall population of the
users of the illegal drug. Additionally, the high prevalence of female users of illicit drugs
limits its generalizability because the report directly contradicts the existing national
statistics which indicate that more men consume illegal drugs than men. This is likely to
skew the outcomes and present an erroneous status of drug consumption gender-wise.
Furthermore, this increases the possibility of gender bias in the interpretation of the
outcomes.
PART B
One of the major enablers in the uptake of the study findings is the fact that the study is
the first extensive survey carried out at a music festival site and which evaluates its
effectiveness by assessing the attitudes and knowledge of the attendees. A larger
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sample size implies that there is enough information, and high precision or level of
confidence. This is because a larger sample size produces a narrower margin of error
and a smaller effect size. Despite the strength of larger sample size, the limitations of
the study area as well as critical. The study is less likely to represent the overall
population, meaning the conclusion cannot be true of all the attendees of music
festivals. Moreover, the generalizability of the study is questionable due to the high
prevalence of female users of illegal drugs; an aspect that contravenes the existing
national statistics. This is likely to skew the interpretation of the results and is a potential
for gender bias as well.
Already, these limitations override the single strength of the study and consequently the
findings and conclusions. with regard to Emily’s mother, she should still stick to her
beliefs and not allow Emily to attend the music festival because the critiqued article
doesn’t prove otherwise
Conclusion
The dreadful consequences of drug consumption by Australian teenagers who attend
music festivals are still a problem. However, drug testing services have been actualized
and reported to be effective in impacting drug intake behaviour, with others criticizing
the strategy by claiming that it actually encourages the use of illegal drugs and even its
not accurate. This has left parents and guardians to be confused about whether to allow
their children to attend such festivals or not. The critiqued study found out that drug
testing services are effective in impacting drug consumption behaviour, however, it has
substantial limitations that make it impossible to make concrete decisions on the
effectiveness of drug testing services at music festivals.
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References
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). (2017). National Drug Strategy
Household Survey 2016: detailed findings. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/ndshs-2016-detailed/report-
editions
Day, N., Criss, J., Griffiths, B., Gujral, S. K., John-Leader, F., Johnston, J., & Pit, S.
(2018). Music festival attendees’ illicit drug use, knowledge and practices
regarding drug content and purity: a cross-sectional survey. Harm reduction
journal, 15(1), 1-8. doi: 10.1186/s12954-017-0205-7
Gotsis T., Angus C., & Roth L. (2016). Illegal drug use and possession: current policy
and debates. Retrieved from https://apo.org.au/node/66249
Greenhalgh, T., Bidewell, J., Crisp, E., Lambros, A., & Warland, J. (2016).
Understanding Research Methods for Evidence-Based Practice in Health (1st
ed.). Milton, Qld: Wiley.
Groves, A. (2018). ‘Worth the test?’Pragmatism, pill testing and drug policy in
Australia. Harm reduction journal, 15(1), 1-6.
Roman-Urrestarazu, A., Robertson, R., Yang, J., McCallum, A., Gray, C., McKee, M., &
Middleton, J. (2018). European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction:
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has a vital role in the
UK's ability to respond to illicit drugs and organised crime. Bmj, 362-367.
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