Statistical presentation

Data description

The statistics contain information on social drug abuse treatment, including information on the contact process (from request to ended treatment course) and treatment process (from initiation to ended treatment course). In addition, the completion status (drug free, reduced/stabilised drug abuse and other) is calculated at the end of treatment.

Drug addiction treatment does not include alcohol addiction treatment. Privately paid treatment is not included in this calculation, just as people in anonymous substance abuse treatment are not included either. These statistics are compiled for municipalities, but only municipalities that have approved their data on social drug abuse treatment are included.

See an overview of all reportable information, which is also available on the statistics information page under "Vejledninger".

See a visual overview of what must be reported by the municipality and a visual overview of what must be reported by the drug abuse treatment center (both in Danish).

Classification system

These statistics are grouped by municipalities.

Sector coverage

Not relevant for these statistics.

Statistical concepts and definitions

The Social Service Act: Section 101 of the Social Service Act describes the municipality's obligation to offer social drug abuse treatment, see the section "Legal Acts and Other Agreements".

Request for treatment: A request for treatment is when a citizen contacts the municipality or treatment centre and ask for drug abuse treatment. A request does not necessarily mean that treatment will be started. This depends on weather or not a initiation is made.

Treatment guarantee: All citizens have a legal right to receive an offer of social drug addiction treatment within 14 days after they have requested treatment, and this is referred to as a treatment guarantee cf. Section 101 of the Service Act, see the section "Legal Acts and Other Agreements".

Initiation: After an assessment of the citizen’s needs based on a screening, the municipality initiates the treatment, if the municipality finds it relevant for the citizen in question.

Enrolment in treatment centre: The municipality reports which type of treatment is provided to the citizen and by whom. It is possible to report multiple enrolments after a single request for treatment (treatment courses) - both chronologically, in parallel or staggered from each other.

When reporting enrollment in treatment centre, the municipality specifies the day the treatment is supposed to start, and this date will be identical to the initiation date. The municipality resports an end date when the treatment at the treatment centre is over. If, during the same treatment course, the citizen has to move on to another treatment center, receive a new type of treatment or a different intensity of treatment (e.g. from ambulant to 24-hour treatment), the municipality must report a new enrollment. If it is the last treatment center in the citizen's treatment course, the municipality will end the citizen's treatment.

Admission: An admission means that the treatment centre has started treatment of the citizen. The first date of admission will correspond to the initiation reported by the municipality.

Services: With the enrolment, the municipality must attach the services that the citizen recive at the center, e.g. individual talks, group courses, ect.

Discharge: A discharge means that the treatment centre has stopped treatment of the citizen.

Ended treatment courses: An ended treatment course means that the municipality has ended the treatment course.

Contact procedure: A contact procedure is the period between request and ended treatment courses. A contact procedure does not always result in a treatment course, if the treatment is not initiated, but there is only a request and a ended contact course.

Treatment course: A treatment course is the period between initiation and ended treatment courses.

Statistical unit

• Incidents (request, initiation, end of treatment) in treatment courses
• Persons in treatment during the year
• Status of ended treatment (per cent)
• Compliance with treatment guarantee

Statistical population

Social drug abuse treatment delivered by municipalities and treatment centers for citizens in Denmark, according to § 101 in the Social Service Act.

Reference area

Denmark excluding Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Time coverage

These statistics cover the time period from 2015 and onwards.

Base period

Not relevant for these statistics.

Unit of measure

Number of incidents, number of treatments and number of persons in treatment, including percent and compliance with treatment guarantee.

Reference period

Calendar year.

Frequency of dissemination

Yearly.

Legal acts and other agreements

Lov om Danmarks Statistik § 6

Data for social drug abuse treatment due to The Social Service Act (Serviceloven) § 101 is collected according to Bekendtgørelse om dataindberetninger på socialområdet, chapter 5. The act in force is always available via the statistics' information page under the section "Databekendtgørelse".

Per 01.01.2024, a remediation of the statistics is expected to come into effect, which means that reporting from drug addiction treatment centers will become voluntary. Per 01.01.2025 these forms will be fully phased out, as they will no longer be supported in SMDB.

The Children's Act (Barnets Lov) is also expected to come into force per 01.01.2024, which will mean that the municipalities must report social substance abuse treatment for children and young people under the age of 18 according to a new paragraph (§ 33), contrary to today, where all social substance abuse treatments must be reported according to § 101.

See the hearing on changes of the bekendtgørelse om dataindberetninger på socialområdet, where the changes in connection with the Children's Act appear in chapter 5 and the remediation appears in appendix 4.

Bekendtgørelse om dataindberetninger på socialområdet, and the reporting requirements therein, are based on § 82 and § 84 Lov om retssikkerhed og administration på det sociale område.

Cost and burden

The municipalities and the drug addiction treatment centers are obliged to report to Statistics Denmark, cf. Lov om Danmarks Statistik and Bekendtgørelse om dataindberetninger på socialområdet (see the section "Legal acts and other agreements"). From 2024, it will only be the municipal authorities that have the obligation to report cf. the section "Legal acts and other agreements", which is why the reporting burden is expected to be significantly reduced.

Comment

Further information can be found at the Subject page for these statistics, or by contacting Statistics Denmark directly at smdb@dst.dk.