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Module Three Journal
Emily Higdon
Southern New Hampshire University
CHE-110: Intro. To Community Health
Dr. Enjoli T. Sidonie
March 17, 2025
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The chronic disease I have chosen is viral hepatitis and the community is those who use
or inject drugs/substance abuse. Those who are struggling with substance abuse issues usually
don’t take the time to think about what equipment (needles, spoons, etc…) they are using to do
the drugs, they just are focused on doing it. Sadly, I am very familiar with this issue because as a
teenager I struggled with substance abuse and I was diagnosed with hepatitis C when I was just
17 years-old. Hepatitis A, B, and C can all be transmitted through the use of needles in those
who inject drugs.
“A nationwide outbreak of hepatitis A, primarily among people who use drugs and/or
people experiencing homelessness, has spread across the United States since 2016, with 37,691
cases affecting more than 35 states as of February 5, 2021” (Data Summary: Vulnerable Areas
for Infectious Diseases in Persons Who Inject Drugs, 2024) . Patients with hepatitis A
who reported using drugs were more likely to be between the ages of 18 and
39 as opposed to ≥40, to be homeless or living in unstable housing, and to
be incarcerated either now or previously. Those who use drugs also don’t
have access to the proper care they need in order to get rid of the hepatitis,
especially in rural areas. Personally, this is the main factor causing these
outbreaks because these people who are struggling can’t access the care
they need whether that be because of insurance, access to providers, and
things such as those.
Thankfully, we are starting to see more progress when it comes to providing access to
care to those we need it. One of those things is called Syringe Service Programs (SSP) which
allows users to have “access to and disposal of sterile syringes and injection equipment” (Syringe
Services Programs | Syringe Services Programs (SSPs), 2024). They also provide links to
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treatment for substance abuse, testing, counseling, and links for treatment for infectious diseases.
Although this one might not be accessible to some people, this prevention method has been
shown to not only stop the use of opioids but it shows long term sobriety. This is called Opioid
Substitution Therapy which is essentially taking methadone, suboxone, or buprenorphine to help
you stay sober. Staying sober means those who were injection drug users no longer will be
partaking in risky drug use behaviors. “Medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), particularly
buprenorphine and methadone, substantially reduce overdose-related and overall mortality”
(Dowell et al., 2024).
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References
Data Summary: Vulnerable Areas for Infectious Diseases in Persons Who Inject Drugs. (2024,
February 16). CDC. Retrieved March, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/persons-who-
inject-drugs/vulnerable/index.html
Dowell, D., Brown, S., Gyawali, S., Hoenig, J., Ko, J., Mikosz, C., Ussery, E., Baldwin,
G., Jones, C. M., Olsen, Y., Tomoyasu, N., Han, B., Compton, W. M., & Volkow, N. D.
(2024). Treatment for Opioid use Disorder: Population estimates — United States, 2022.
MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 73(25), 567–574.
https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7325a1
Syringe Services Programs | Syringe Services Programs (SSPs). (2024, February 8). CDC.
Retrieved March, 2025, from
https://www.cdc.gov/syringe-services-programs/php/index.html
