A systems dynamic model for drug abuse and drug-related crime in the Western Cape Province of South Africa
Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Abstract
The complex problem of drug abuse and drug-related crimes in communities in the Western Cape province cannot be studied in isolation but through the system they are embedded in. In this paper, a theoretical model to evaluate the syndemic of substance abuse and drug-related crimes within the Western Cape province of South Africa is constructed and explored. The dynamics of drug abuse and drug-related crimes within the Western Cape are simulated using STELLA software. The simulation results are consistent with the data from SACENDU and CrimeStats SA, highlighting the usefulness of such a model in designing and planning interventions to combat substance abuse and its related problems.
Description
CITATION: Nyabadza, F. & Coetzee, L. 2017. A systems dynamic model for drug abuse and drug-related crime in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 2017:1-14 (Article ID 4074197), doi:10.1155/2017/4074197.
The original publication is available at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cmmm
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
The original publication is available at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cmmm
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
Keywords
Drug abuse and crime -- South Africa -- Western Cape, Mathematical models
Citation
Nyabadza, F. & Coetzee, L. 2017. A systems dynamic model for drug abuse and drug-related crime in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 2017:1-14 (Article ID 4074197), doi:10.1155/2017/4074197.