HLSC122 Semester 1 2019: Critical Appraisal of Drug Use at Festivals

This essay presents a critical appraisal of a research article focusing on drug use among music festival attendees and their attitudes toward drug checking services. The appraisal covers aspects such as the authors' credibility, research questions, study design, methods, results, and limitations. It highlights the use of a cross-sectional survey design, quantitative data analysis, and convenience sampling. The essay also discusses the application of the research findings to a practical scenario, considering the enablers and barriers to implementing drug checking services. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of further research and evidence-based practice in addressing drug-related harms at music festivals, noting the potential of drug checking services to reduce harm from toxic substances. Desklib provides this and other solved assignments to aid students.

Running head: CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EVIDENCE 1
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HLSC122 Semester 1, 2019
Assessment 3: Critical appraisal of evidence

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EVIDENCE 2
Day, N. C.-L. (2018). Music festival attendees’ illicit drug use, knowledge, and practices
regarding drug content and purity: A cross-sectional survey. Harm Reduction Journal,
doi:10.1186/s12954-017-0205-7
In 2016, the National Drug Strategy Household Survey indicated that about 42.6% of
Australians between age 14 and above stated that they had used illegal drugs in their lifetime.
15.6% of the individuals said that they had used the drug in the previous month. Individuals aged
between 20-29 years indicated the greatest prevalence, where 28.2% had used drugs within the
last year. Individuals who attend music festivals reported higher levels of illegal drug use as
compared to the general population. In harmony with this, research carried out at festivals across
Australia display a significantly higher rate of use of illegal drugs in the specific age groups
(Gotsis, 2018). Drug checking is a strategy employed for harm reduction and enables users to
check the purity and content of illegal drugs (Canberra, 2017). However, the implementation of
the strategy remains a contentious issue in Australia.
Authorship
The authors of the article include Day N., Criss J., Griffiths B., Gujral S.K., John-Leader
F., Johnson J., and Pit S. The authors’ qualifications and affiliations have been listed with Day,
Criss, Griffiths and Gujraj from School of Medicine in the University of Western Sidney and the
University Center for Rural Health in Australia, John-Leader from the Harm Reduction and
Health Promotion Programs, Johnston from the University Center for Rural health as well as
School of Public Health. Finally, Pit S has several qualifications from the School of Medicine,
University of Western Sidney School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, and University
Centre for Rural Health (Day, 2018).

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EVIDENCE 3
However, the qualifications of the authors are not clearly stated in the article. The fact
that most of the authors have similar qualifications and are also from the same affiliation
provides possible grounds for bias. Also, the use of convenience sampling provides grounds for
bias as the results cannot be used as a representative of the whole population.
Research question
The research seeks to enhance the understanding of individuals of the behaviors and attitudes in
regards to services of drug checking amongst music festival (Day, 2018).
Research design
The research design used is a cross-sectional study design. The study used 1365
adolescents and was carried out in 2016 at a music festival in Australia (Day, 2018). The purpose
of the study was to evaluate the patterns and proportion of the use of illegal drugs among the
youth and their attitude towards dug checking at music festivals. Also, it assessed the potential
influence of drug checking on the anticipated behavior in drug use. The structure and content of
the survey were steered by previous studies in the field and research team members with
expertise in fields of public health, sexual health, health promotion, drug, and alcohol. All the
survey participants were asked to indicate their demographics, attitudes in regards to drug
checking services as well as the use of illegal drugs (Day, 2018).
Research methods
The research method used was predominantly quantitative. However, one open-ended
question was used to ask users why they had not tried to research on content or purity of their
drugs. The sample used for the study was 642 festivals attendees between 18 to 30 years (Day,
2018). The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. A pilot test had been performed with a

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EVIDENCE 4
youth sample population of 10 and 12 who represented the target population. The pilot test was
refined at each stage.
The collection of data took place in two during an Australian popular music festival. The
participants were selected on the average ae between a range of 18 to 30 years. A paper-based
survey was completed by participants independently and anonymously the inserted in a closed
box for confidentiality. The information collected did not include identifying data to ensure the
anonymity of the individuals. Again, the participants included in the survey were approached
during daylight hours to reduce the possibility of intoxication during the time of completion pf
the survey. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 (Day, 2018). Chi-square tests were
carried out to distinguish links between categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables.
The open-ended question was thematically coded to determine reasons for not trying to research
on drug content and purity.
Results and limitations
The survey included 642 participants, with 60.5% being female respondents. 62.2% were
aged between 18 to 21 years, with 66.8% single, 52% art time employed or studying, and 90.4%
heterosexual (Day, 2018). The number of females surveyed was disproportionate. Nevertheless,
the Chi-square testing did not illustrate a statistically significant difference in the dominance of
drug use in the past use between females and males. Majority of the participants indicated the
use of alcohol at least once in their lifetime. The drugs that were mainly used in the previous
year include cocaine 34.1%, ecstasy 59.8%, and cannabis 63.9%.

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EVIDENCE 5
Most of the participants comprising 86.2% agreed that free services for drug checking
should be made available for free at festivals. A smaller portion of the participants consisting of
67.5%, agreed that drug checking services should be provided at a cost (Day, 2018). Again
86.5% of the participants agreed that the drug checking services would assist in the reduction of
harm. 84.9% also agreed that the services should be combined with advice on harm reduction.
Nevertheless, 68.6% of the participants agreed that people who sell drugs might employ
the service as a quality control mechanism (Day, 2018). When a comparison of attitudes of
individuals who had used drugs in the past year as compared to those who had not used drugs,
those who used drugs were found to believe that the drug checking services should be made
available for free. This could help drug users looking for help to decrease harm and that the
services should include a combination of harm reduction advice.
Limitations of the study
The results of the study were based on a convenience sample of individuals who attend
music festivals. As such, the participants are less likely to use as a representative of the general
population (Eager, 2019). The disproportionate nature of the gender of the participants does not
correspond with national data indicating that males usually consume more illegal drugs as
compared to females. Again, the high number of female respondents may also skew the
interpretation of the results.
Application of evidence to practice
This is the first research carried out at a music festival to assess attendees to assess drug
checking services in Australia (Day, 2018). More research should be carried out on the
continuous debate regarding drug testing. Regardless of public support and backing from

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EVIDENCE 6
numerous law enforcement and prominent political leaders, laws on drug checking at festivals
have not been passed by any state in Australia. In the scenario, there is insufficient evidence to
support the efficiency of the drug checking strategy in reducing the use of illegal drugs. Proper
implementation of EBP required intersciplinary collaboration for successful implementation
(Hoffmann, 2017).Trainining the intended adopters will also play a critical role in ensuring that
they are able and willing to use the technology applied in the EBP (Greenhalgh, 2018). When
workers understand it and have the knowledge on how to use it, there is less resistance since they
don’t feel threatened.
Conclusion
Drug-related harms are still a concern for Australian music festivals. Drug checking
services have been put in place in place as a strategy of reducing arm. Most of the festival
attendees in the research indicated that support for the provision of drug checking at festivals.
Drug users reported that they would use free drug checking services, and the results would
impact their drug checking behaviors. The strategy has the potential to directly reduce harm from
the intake of unintended toxic substances. The study can help in contributing to debates on drug
checking services’ role in harm reduction in Australia. Again, further research needs to be
carried out on evidence based practice to help in reducing barriers to its implementation and
adoption.

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References
Canberra. (2017). National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2016: detailed findings. Retrieved
from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-
use-of-drugs/ndshs-2016-detailed/ report-editions
Day, N. C.-L. (2018). Music festival attendees’ illicit drug use, knowledge and practices
regarding drug content and purity: A cross-sectional survey. Harm Reduction Journal,.
doi:10.1186/s12954-017-0205-7
Eager, B. (2019). Combining Quantitative Data Obtained from Convenience and Panel
Sampling: A Case for Avoiding Waste in Data Collection Efforts in Entrepreneurship
Research. SAGE Publications Limited.
Gotsis, T. (2018). Drug use at music festivals . NSW Parliamentary Research Service .
Greenhalgh, T. (2018). How to improve success of technology projects in health and social care.
Public Research and Practice.
Hoffmann, S. B. (2017). Evidence-Based Practice Across the Health Professions. Elsevier.