Drug abuse in Pakistan - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

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Mapp<strong>in</strong>g the national contours of drug <strong>abuse</strong>:
the key <strong>in</strong>formant <strong>in</strong>terviews
Key <strong>in</strong>formant <strong>in</strong>terviews sample description
In this section data are presented from the national mapp<strong>in</strong>g exercise. Key <strong>in</strong>formants were
asked to report on drug <strong>abuse</strong> patterns and trends <strong>in</strong> their local areas. A total of 36 sampl<strong>in</strong>g
sites (locales) were selected to allow a broadly representative national picture of the drug
<strong>abuse</strong> situation to be produced. The sample was structured to <strong>in</strong>clude 18 matched pairs of
rural and urban areas.
The tables referred to <strong>in</strong> this section are numbered sequentially. Those tables (tables A.II to
A.II.9) where the table number is preceded with the letter “A” can be found <strong>in</strong> annex II of this
report.
A key <strong>in</strong>formant approach was selected as the most appropriate method for generat<strong>in</strong>g a natio
nal picture of patterns and trends <strong>in</strong> drug <strong>abuse</strong>. In total, 283 key <strong>in</strong>formants were <strong>in</strong>terviewed
for this study (on average seven respondents per locale). This corresponds to the study design
that aimed for a m<strong>in</strong>imum of five key <strong>in</strong>formant <strong>in</strong>terviews per locale, but allowed extra <strong>in</strong>terviews
to be conducted where other particularly appropriate <strong>in</strong>dividuals could be located. The
sampl<strong>in</strong>g strategy was designed to ensure that a range of respondents, who had knowledge of
drug <strong>abuse</strong> from different perspectives, were <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the sample. By <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g such diverse
occupational groups as teachers, medical workers and police <strong>in</strong> the sample, it was hoped that
a fuller picture of the local drug scene would be produced—as each group would have a different
perspective on patterns of local drug <strong>abuse</strong>. Key <strong>in</strong>formants were not simply selected
by occupational group. Interviewers were <strong>in</strong>structed to identify key <strong>in</strong>formants <strong>in</strong> each locale
who were most likely to have had contacts with drug <strong>abuse</strong>rs and therefore be best placed to
describe the local situation.
The vast majority of respondents were male (94%), with only 17 females be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terviewed <strong>in</strong>
total. Whilst the sampl<strong>in</strong>g strategy matched rural and urban locales <strong>in</strong> practice more suitable
<strong>in</strong>dividuals were, perhaps unsurpris<strong>in</strong>gly, located <strong>in</strong> urban sites. In the f<strong>in</strong>al sample 64% (181)
of respondents were classified as report<strong>in</strong>g from urban sites, and 36% (101) from rural ones.
It was not possible to code one <strong>in</strong>terview on the urban/rural dimension and it was therefore
excluded. Urban-rural comparisons are therefore made here on an achieved sample size of
282 responses. This represents a mean of six <strong>in</strong>terviews per rural site as opposed to 10 per
urban location. In both cases, the m<strong>in</strong>imum target sample of five <strong>in</strong>terviews per locale was
achieved. In the analysis that follows urban versus rural breakdowns are provided where this
variable impacts on the <strong>in</strong>terpretation of the data.
Sampl<strong>in</strong>g sites were drawn across the four prov<strong>in</strong>ces of Punjab, S<strong>in</strong>dh, Balochistan, and North-
West Frontier (NWFP). In Punjab, 86 <strong>in</strong>terviews were conducted <strong>in</strong> total (65, urban and 21, rural),
<strong>in</strong> S<strong>in</strong>dh 64 <strong>in</strong>terviews <strong>in</strong> total (49, urban and 15, rural), <strong>in</strong> Balochistan 30 <strong>in</strong>terviews <strong>in</strong> total
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