On this page: About the National Data | Methodology | History
About the National Data
Data
Baseline: 6.2 percent of persons aged 12 years and over misused prescription drugs in the past 12 months in 2018
Target: 3.6 percent
Methodology
Questions used to obtain the national baseline data
From the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:
Numerator:
Have you ever, even once, used any prescription pain reliever in any way a doctor did not direct you to use it?- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
Methodology notes
NSDUH collects data on four categories of prescription drugs (pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives) covering numerous medications that currently are or have been available by prescription. NSDUH respondents are asked to report misuse of these drugs, defined as use in any way not directed by a doctor, including use without a prescription of one's own; use in greater amounts, more often, or longer than told to take a drug; or use in any other way not directed by a doctor. Misuse of over-the-counter drugs is not included. NSDUH reports combine the four prescription drug groups into a category referred to as "psychotherapeutics." Because the NDSUH prescription drug measures were revised in 2015, data for prescription drug misuse are not comparable with estimates prior to 2015.
History
1. Because Healthy People 2030 objectives have a desired direction (e.g., increase or decrease), the confidence level of a one-sided prediction interval can be used as an indication of how likely a target will be to achieve based on the historical data and fitted trend.