Welcome

Welcome on this dashboard of the Belgian TDI register.

The collection of information on patients treated for their alcohol or drug use allows for a better understanding of the situation and trends of addiction in Belgium. These data on the socio-economic profile of patients and their substance use patterns are recorded since 2011 in the Belgian Treatment Demand Indicator Register (BTDIR). This register is a source of reliable, qualitative and comparable information over time to guide health policy and societal debates.

For more info, please visit Sciensano's TDI webpage .

Content of the dashboard

 Tab Profile

Content of all variables collected in TDI. The data can be explored by region, type of center, primary substance, year and type of patient.

  Tab Substances

Evolution in time of the primary and problematic substances mentioned by patients. The data can be explored by region, type of center, primary substance and type of patient.

  Tab Trends

Evolution in time of several developed indicators. The data can be explored by region, type of center, primary substance and type of patient.

  Data used

  • Years : The dashboard presents the data collected between 2015 and 2022. During these years the same definitions, variables and way of collecting data was used.
  • Statistical unit : The data displayed refers to treatment episodes started by people for their problem with substance use during the year. It can be that a same person has several treatment episodes during a given year.
  • Data providers : Around 200 treatment centers are providing yearly their data to the TDI database across all Belgium

Definitions

The Belgian TDI registration aims to collect information on each treatment episode started by a patient in a treatment centre for alcohol or substance use.

A patient is considered to be any person, regardless of age, nationality or place of residence, who has had direct contact with a treatment centre for his/her alcohol or substance use problem. This excludes anyone who has had contact by telephone, letter, internet or through their family.

A treatment centre is a facility or practitioner offering treatment for substance use problems. It may be an outpatient or residential service, specialised in addiction treatment or part of a wider range of services for different patient groups, medical or non-medical. The centre may be recognised in an agreement with the authorities. Non-professional support groups, centres offering only harm reduction activities, social reintegration, prevention services or outreach activities are not considered as treatment centres.

Treatment is defined as any activity aimed directly at a person with substance use problems, with the aim of achieving results in terms of reducing or eliminating these problems. Possible activities are detoxification or abstinence, substitution treatment, pharmacotherapy, long-term patient rehabilitation programmes, psychotherapy, counselling, structured treatment with a strong social component, medically assisted treatment, non-medical interventions, specific treatment in prison or interventions to reduce substance-related harm if included in a planned programme.

A treatment episode is defined as: the period between the start of treatment and the end of activities in the context of the prescribed programme. The beginning of the episode is the first face-to-face contact between the professional and the patient. The end of the episode is defined differently depending on whether the patient is treated in an outpatient or residential unit. In an outpatient setting, an episode of treatment ends when the patient does not attend the centre for more than 6 months. In residential care, the end of treatment is defined when the patient leaves the centre and no further admissions are planned.

A problematic substance is a substance causing problems to the patient. There can be several problematic substances mentioned in each treatment episode

The primary substance is the substance causing the most problems to the patient or the substance for which the patient started this treatment episode. If no primary substance can be identified among all problematic substance, the variable is left blank

The types of centers corresponds with : low-threshold: the medical social centres (MASS/MSOCs); ambulant: other non-residential units (daycenters, centers of mental health, consultation centers), residential non-hospital: residential centers such as therapeutic communities or detox centers, hospital: treatment units in psychiatric or general hospitals

Sex

Question : What is your sex?

Age categories

Question : Age at the beginning of the treatment episode

Mean age

Question : Age at the beginning of the treatment episode

Education level

Question : What is your highest education level passed ?

Housing situation

Question : During this last month in what kind of accommodation did you live most of the time ?

Living situation

Question : During this last month, with whom did you live most of the time ?

Living with child(ren)

Question : During this last month, did you live with children (less than 18) under your responsibility?

Working situation

Question : During this last month what was your main working activity ?

Income situation

Question : During this last month what was your main income source?

Referral

Question : Which person or institution oriented you to follow this treatment episode?

Previous treatment for addiction

Question : Did you already follow an addiction treatment program before this one ?

Previous substitution treatment

Question : Did you ever receive a substitution treatment?

Main substance category

Question : Which substance is the primary substance bringing you to start this treatment episode?

Route of administration

Question : During this last month, which way did you usually use the primary substance ?

Frequency of use

Question : During this last month, at what frequency did you use this primary substance ?

Age at first use

Question : At what age did you use this primary substance for the first time?

Mean age at first use

Question : At what age did you use this primary substance for the first time?

Ever injecting status

Question : Did you ever inject a psychoactive substance (No matter which substance) ?

Age at first injection

Question : At what age did you inject a psychoactive substance for the first time?

Mean age at first injection

Question : At what age did you inject a psychoactive substance for the first time?

Last injection

Question : When did you last inject a psychoactive substance?

Primary substance

Indicator : Proportion of treatment episodes with a specific primary substance

Problematic substance

Indicator : Proportion of treatment episodes with a specific problematic substance