TY - JOUR T1 - Systematic review of guidelines in estimating social costs on drugs JO - Gaceta Sanitaria T2 - AU - Alberto Vella,Vincenzo AU - García-Altes,Anna AU - Segura García,Lidia AU - Ibáñez Martínez,Nuria AU - Colom Farran,Joan SN - 02139111 M3 - 10.1016/j.gaceta.2017.10.009 DO - 10.1016/j.gaceta.2017.10.009 UR - https://gacetasanitaria.org/es-systematic-review-guidelines-in-estimating-articulo-S0213911117302741 AB - ObjectiveTo systematically review guidance documents for the estimation of the social cost of illegal drugs, and to define standards for this estimation. MethodA systematic literature search was conducted between April and May 2015 and updated in November 2015. Pubmed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched. Studies were included only if they provided indications of analytical methods for calculating the social cost of illegal drugs consumption. ResultsA total of 21 papers were selected for a final review. Four main areas of discussion were identified: a) alternative theories for the framework design; b) basic concepts definition; c) theoretical issues in the application of the framework and; d) definition of the cost matrix and its elements. The review exercise enabled the definition of two analytical approaches, which are proposed as references for estimation in the field. Conclusionsalthough social cost is a well-established method in the literature, there is a lack of agreement on the most appropriate approaches in the area of estimation of the social cost of illegal drugs consumption. Moreover, the two analytical approaches proposed are aimed at promoting more research focused at sophisticating the methodology in the field. ER -