Assignment Wk 2

OPIOID EPIDEMIC PRESIDENTIAL AGENDAS 4

Opioid Epidemic Presidential Agendas

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Opioid Epidemic Presidential Agendas

The health topic I have selected for this discussion is the opioid epidemic. As a future PMHNP who comes from a state that is highly affected by opioid abuse, I am interested in everything related to the issue. Notably, the opioid epidemic involves addiction to prescription opioids and illicit opioids such as heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil. In the US, the opioid epidemic has been worsening since the early 1990s (Altekruse et al., 2020). Therefore, US presidents have been developing strategies to address the health problem.

The social determinant that has the most effect of the opioid crisis in the country is economic stability. Forati et al. (2021) noted that the opioid epidemic is acute among highly poor and marginalized Americans who struggle to afford healthcare services. The phenomenon is evident in both rural and urban areas. For instance, opioid overdose deaths are concentrated in city areas that are marginalized, deprived, and poor (Forati et al., 2021). Die to economic disparities, opioid abuse is not uniformly distributed in the country. People facing economic instability due to unemployment, low income, job skills, and educational levels are at an increased risk of opioid addiction (Altekruse et al., 2020). Past incarceration hinders people from securing jobs, which promotes opioid abuse. Besides, insecure housing and past causes fatal opioid use. These economic problems lead to despair and people turn to opioid use.

The former President Donald Trump handled the opioid crisis in 2017 by declaring it a national public health emergency. As such, Congress approved $4.6 billion to curb the opioid issue for two years (Gross & Gordon, 2019). The funds were used to extend buprenorphine opioid addiction to more patients. In 2018, the president’s office introduced an initiative to reduce opioid prescription by 33 percent from 2018 to 2020 throughout the US (Gross & Gordon, 2019). Medicare lowered opioid oversupply by setting limits on the amount of opioid dispensed to beneficiaries.

Currently, President Biden has established the National Drug Control Strategy to fight the opioid crisis by addressing drug trafficking and untreated addiction (The White House, 2022). Therefore, the administration is increasing opioid addiction treatment by enhancing the use of naloxone, buprenorphine, and drug test strips.

Both presidents Trump and Biden opioid control policies involve addressing the supply side and treatment only. They barely have strategies to tackle the demand side of opioids. Thus, I would ensure that the opioid crisis policies address both the supply and demand sides of the problem. Ciccarone (2019) mentioned that the demand factors of the prescription opioids misuse are economic instability, reduced social cohesion, and a rise of mental disorders, and an aging population with disabilities and chronic pain. Moreover, demand drivers of heroin use are young people trying heroin and prescription opioid addicts transitioning to heroin use (Ciccarone, 2019). Finally, the increased heroin demand raises the consumption of synthetic opioids especially fentanyl. Hence, apart from curbing supply factors, my opioid policy would aim to improve mental health treatment, economic stability, pain management, and awareness of heroin use among youths.

References

Altekruse, S. F., Cosgrove, C. M., Altekruse, W. C., Jenkins, R. A., & Blanco, C. (2020). Socioeconomic risk factors for fatal opioid overdoses in the United States: Findings from the Mortality Disparities in American Communities Study (MDAC). Plos One, 15(1), e0227966. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227966

Ciccarone, D. (2019). The triple wave epidemic: Supply and demand drivers of the US opioid overdose crisis. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 71, 183–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.01.010

Forati, A. M., Ghose, R., & Mantsch, J. R. (2021). Examining opioid overdose deaths across communities defined by racial composition: A multiscale geographically weighted regression approach. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 98(4), 551–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-021-00554-x

Gross, J., & Gordon, D. B. (2019). The strengths and weaknesses of current US policy to address pain. American Journal of Public Health, 109(1), 66–72. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304746

The White House. (2022, April 21). President Biden releases National Drug Control Strategy to save lives, expand treatment, and disrupt trafficking. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/briefing-room/2022/04/21/president-biden-releases-national-drug-control-strategy-to-save-lives-expand-treatment-and-disrupt-trafficking/