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Data Source

2021 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) Releases

These reports present 2021 data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN).

DAWN: Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021

Preliminary Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021

2021 DAWN Releases Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where do the data for the 2021 reports come from?

  • The 2021 reports are based on data abstracted from 52 participating hospitals. Originally, DAWN was intended to be comprised of 50 hospitals, but the DAWN redesign in 2019 led to the retention of three hospitals, making the DAWN participating hospital sample size 53.

2. Why did DAWN release a preliminary and a final report on 2021 data?

  • Abstraction of 2021 data was completed in mid-2022, however, in an effort to share data with the public as early as possible a preliminary report was released in May of 2022.

3. Are there any differences between the preliminary and final reports?

  • The 2021 final report includes an additional section titled Weighted National Estimates of All Drug-Related ED Visits, 2021 and presents both the percentage and unadjusted rate per 100,000 for all drug-related emergency department visits broken down by age, sex, race, ethnicity, region, and quarter.
  • An additional 7,492 drug-related ED visits were included in the analysis for the final report.
  • A section in the final report titled Key Findings from Sentinel Hospitals, March 2021 – December 2021 includes data from nine sentinel hospitals and consists of a 10 month analysis period, whereas, this section in the preliminary report includes data on 8 sentinel hospitals and consists of an 8 month analysis period.

4. Why do these reports include findings based on weighted and unweighted data?

  • The final report includes a section titled Weighted National Estimates of All Drug-Related ED Visits, 2021 and presents both the percentage and unadjusted rate per 100,000 for all drug-related emergency department visits. The final and preliminary reports include a section titled Weighted National Estimates of the Top Five Drugs in Drug-Related ED Visits, 2021 and presents weighted data on the top 5 drugs involved in drug-related ED visits. The data was weighted in order to generate nationally representative estimates for these drug-related ED visits by age, sex, race, ethnicity, census region, and quarter.
  • The final and preliminary reports include a section titled Key Findings from Sentinel Hospitals, April 2021 – November 2021 (preliminary report) and Key Findings from Sentinel Hospitals, March 2021 – December 2021 (final report), which presents unweighted data from sentinel hospitals. The analysis was based on unweighted data from sentinel hospitals in order to assess drug-related ED visit trends and polysubstance use.

5. How should this report be cited?

  • Final Report:
    Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Drug Abuse Warning Network: Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021; Publication PEP22-07-03-002. Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data.
  • Preliminary Report:
    Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Preliminary Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021; Drug Abuse Warning Network PEP22-07-03-001. Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data.

Final 2021 Report

DAWN: Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021

This final report focuses on key findings from drug-related emergency department visits collected by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) in 2021. The information presented in the report is organized into the following sections:

  1. Weighted national estimates, including percent and unadjusted rates per 100,000, for all drug-related ED visits by age, sex, race, ethnicity, census region, and quarter
  2. Weighted national estimates for the top five drugs in drug-related ED visits by age, sex, race, ethnicity, census region, and quarter
  3. Monthly trends and drugs involved in polysubstance ED visits in a subset of sentinel DAWN hospitals, and
  4. Drugs that are new to DAWN’s Drug Reference Vocabulary (DRV).

In addition to these sections, the final report provides an overview of DAWN, its sample design, and the weighting and estimation methods used.

Preliminary 2021 Report

Preliminary Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021

This preliminary report focuses on key findings from drug-related emergency department visits collected by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) in 2021. The information presented in the report is organized into three sections as follows:

  1. Weighted national estimates for the top five drugs in drug-related ED visits by age, sex, race, ethnicity, census region, and quarter
  2. Monthly trends and drugs involved in polysubstance ED visits in a subset of sentinel DAWN hospitals, and
  3. Drugs that are new to DAWN’s Drug Reference Vocabulary (DRV).

In addition to these sections, the preliminary report provides an overview of DAWN, its sample design, and the weighting and estimation methods used.