Prescription Drug Abuse: a Growing Epidemic in the United States

ethical dose(prenominal) medicine Ab uptake A Growing epidemic in the unify States prescription drug(prenominal) medicate shout out and related medicates atomic moment 18 a major(ip) public wellness issue that continues to grow each year. The bailiwick land on medicate Abuse explains ethical drug drug drug misuse as the intentional use of a medication without a ethical drug. (U. S. wellness and benevolent Services, 2011) Since ethical drug drugs argon legal and readily prescribed to alleviate spite and suffering, it poses a big challenge to control them. Many plurality, especially young adults, feel that they argon safer than illicit drugs because they can be found in their family medicine cabinet.Over the years, the result of citizenry abusing these drugs has augmentd significantly. According to the Center of unsoundness maintain (CDC), in 2007 there were approximately 27,000 unintentional drug dose deaths in the coupled States. (Centers for Disease r eassure and streak, 2012) The use of prescription drugs continues to be the number one cause of these doses, more(prenominal) than heroin and cocaine combined. As part of the CDCs study, they inform that over a ten-year period, between 1997 and 2007, the number of milligrams of prescription opioids prescribed per a person increased from 74 milligrams to 369 milligrams.In 2000, pharmacies mete out 174- one one million million million million opioid prescriptions and in 2009, it increased to 257 million prescriptions. These are some(prenominal) major contributors to prescription drug debase and overdoses due to the fact that prescription drugs are so easily available. As a result of this study, the CDC has classified prescription drug pervert as an epidemic. (Executive station of the electric chair of the unite States, 2011) ethical drug drug abuse spans across a wide range of commonwealths. The prevalence of prescription drug abuse is higher among men, individuals betwe en the ages of 18-64, non-Hispanic whites, service members, and poor, rural populations.The highest come out of prescription drug abuse is by young adults between the ages of 18-25. (U. S. wellness and Human Services, 2011)) Of the individuals who inform non-medical prescription drug abuse, 70 share reported getting the prescription drugs from a friend or relative, 18 part reported getting it from one remedy, and less than 5 percent reported buying it from a drug dealer or stranger. (Executive single-valued function of the death chair of the United States, 2011) Younger adults are at higher take a chance for overdose because they progress to a higher tendency to mix prescription drugs with intoxicant or other illicit drugs. Multiple studies mother revealed associations between prescription drug abuse and higher rates of cigarette smoking, heavy occasional drinking, and marijuana, cocaine, and other illicit drug use among adolescents, young adults, and college students in the United States. (U. S. wellness and Human Services, 2011) This results in numerous emergency room visits for this detail population. Between 2004 and 2009, the number of emergency room visits related to non-medical use of prescription drugs nearly doubled. Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) Young adults are non the only population of prescription drug abusers that has continued to increase over the years. In 2008, the Department of Defense reported that one in nine active-duty service members reported prescription drug abuse. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) A study do by the Office of issue Drug Control Policy found that approximately both million adults age 50 and older used prescription-type drugs non-medically in the past year. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) As you can see, the prescription drug abuse problem is not limited to a specific population. It effects people throughout thei r bread and buttertime. Newspaper Article A recent obligate in the capital of Massachusetts Globe called Antidote offers addicts families sliver of comfort pinched atomizer credited with reversing more than 1,800 drug overdoses, talked about the distribution of naloxone in the community as a way to prevent an overdose. Naloxone is an opiate counterpoison that can be given to someone who you suspect has overdosed.It can be administered intranasally or by injection. Massachusetts is one of the a couple of(prenominal) states that have enforced a Naloxone distribution course of study. Beginning in 2006, Massachusettss health officials have been distributing Naloxone to individuals who are most likely to insure an overdose such as outreach workers, homeless shelter employees, active drug users and family members. (Canaboy, 2013) The condition goes on to talk about the effect the Naloxone programs have had in Massachusetts. In 2010, overdoses were responsible for 738 deaths in Ma ssachusetts, which was twice the number of motor-vehicle deaths. Canaboy, 2013) Studies have showed that the Naloxone programs have had a positive effect in the communities where it is distributed. at that place were also positive results found in a study done in California by two agencies that implemented Overdose stripe Programs using Naloxone. The rate of overdose deaths was reduced between 27 percent and 46 percent in the communities where Naloxone was distributed in 2009. (Canaboy, 2013) As shown by this article, drug overdoses continue to be a major public health issue in communities throughout Massachusetts.With the help of programs like the Naloxone discussed in this article, there is hope that health officials and communities can work together to deal against it using harm reduction programs in conjunction with other interference programs. profound wad 2020 One of the topics for Healthy People 2020 is substance abuse. The destruction of this topic is to reduce substa nce abuse to protect the health, safety, and quality of life for all, especially children. (Healthy People 2020, 2012) Healthy People 2020 reported that 22 million Americans had drug or alcohol problems in 2005 and 95 percent of them were not even aware of their problem. Healthy People 2020, 2012) They also reported that 273,000 people who have it offd they had a problem with drugs or alcohol were unsuccessful in obtaining handling. Its reasons like this that Healthy People 2020 felt that substance abuse was an important topic to focus on for the future. Under the substance abuse topic in Healthy People 2020 there are two specific objectives directly related to prescription drug use. They state the pursuit objective SA-12 reduce drug-induced deaths and SA-19 reduce the past-year nonmedical use of prescription drugs. (Healthy People 2020, 2012) both(prenominal) these objectives are directly related to the issues discussed in the Boston Globe article and other initiatives that the Federal Government has outlined as part of their designing. breast feeding Diagnosis One of the NANDA diagnoses that relates to prescription drug abuse and overdoses is Ineffective company Self-Health Management. Carpenito-Moyet describes this diagnosis as a pattern in which the community experiences or is at high risk to experience difficulty integrating a program for prevention/treatment of illness and the sequelae of illness and reduction of risk situations. (p. 28) This can be related to the Naloxone program discussed in the Boston Globe article and other treatment services in general. The article negotiation about how there are only a few states that have been willing to implement the Naloxone program. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a report on prescription(prenominal) Drug Overdoses a U. S. Epidemic which talked about the National agenda to combat prescription drug abuse. In the report, it talked about how the public health approach needs to include both s econdary and tertiary prevention programs such as the Naloxone program discussed in the Boston Globe article. Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) There are current programs out there but individuals are not successful in accessing them for one reason or another. The CDCs report discussed the need to remove barriers to make treatment programs more fond in the communities. The report stated, Office-based care can be less stigmatizing and more accessible to all patients, especially those residing in rural areas. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012) Another NANDA diagnosis that is related to prescription drug abuse and overdose is deficient knowledge.This is defined by Carpenito-Moyet as, the state in which an individual or group experiences a deficiency in cognitive knowledge or psychomotor skills concerning the condition or treatment plan. (p. 269) This is directly related to the prescription drug abuse and overdose problem in a number of way s. It applies to the individuals who are actively using drugs, the prescribers who are prescribing the drugs to individuals, and the community in general. The Office of National Drug Control Policy developed a plan to combat the prescription drug problem.In their report, Epidemic Responding to Americas Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis, they developed four major areas of focus, the first macrocosm education. The report stated that A crucial first step in tackling the problem of prescription drug abuse is to education parents, youth, and patients about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs while requiring prescribers to receive training in the safe and appropriate use of these drugs. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011)Educating individuals about the dangers of prescription drugs is just as important or even more important than illicit drugs. People feel that prescription drugs arent as bad because a doctor prescribes them. Education is also required for family members and community members to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of drug abuse or an overdose. The Boston Globe article talks about how part of the Naloxone program is to educate whomever it is getting the Naloxone how to recognize an overdose. Its important for them to know what signs to look for. ConclusionAs evidence by the Boston Globe article and multiple reports put out by the federal government and different state agencies, prescription drug abuse is a major public health issue that needs to be addressed. It needs to be addressed at all levels, starting with the federal governments drug policies and working down to the individuals who are abusing drugs. The population of individuals abusing prescription drugs varies for different reasons. There needs to be more treatment and prevention programs available to the different populations that address the specific needs of each.There are current programs established, like the Naloxone, that are shown to work. We need to keep moving in the right direction to implement and grow these types of programs in order to comply in reducing the prescription drug abuse problem in the United States. Works Cited Canaboy, C. (2013, March 2). Antidote offers addicts families sliver of comfort Nasal spray credited with reversing more than 1,800 drug overdoses. Boston Globe , p. A. 1. Carpenito-Moyet, L. (2008). handbook of Nursing Diagnosis (12th ed. ).Philadelphia, PA Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, January 13). CDC Grand Rounds Prescription Drug Overdoses a U. S. Epidemic. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http//www. cdc. gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6101a3. htm Executive Office of the President of the United States. (2011, April). Prescription Drug Abuse The White House. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from The White House http//www. whitehouse. gov/ondcp/prescription-drug-abuse Healthy People 2020. 2012, September 6). Substance Abuse Healthy People. (U. S. Health and Human Services) Retrieved March 3, 2013, from Healthy People 2020 http//www. healthypeople. gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview. aspx? topicid=40 Lankenau, S. E. , Wagner, K. D. , Silva, K. , Kecojevic, A. , Iverson, E. , McNeely, M. , et al. (2012). Injection Drug Users Trained by Overdose Prevention Programs Responses to Witnessed Overdoses. Journal of Community Health , 38, 133-141. Stanhope, RN, DSN, FAAN, M. , & Lancaster, RN, Ph. D, FAAN, J. (2012).Public Health Nursing Population-Centered Health Care in the Community (8th ed. ). mendelevium Heights, MS Elsevier, Inc. U. S. Health and Human Services. (2011, December). Prescription Drug Abuse. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from National Institute on Drug Abuse http//www. drugabuse. gov/publications/topics-in-brief/prescription-drug-abuse U. S. Health and Human Services. (2011, October). Prescription Drugs Abuse and Addiction. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from National Institute of H ealth http//www. drugabuse. gov/publications/research-reports/prescription-drugs