Why is the opiate addiction epidemic primarily affecting men and women of low socioeconomic backgrounds? What are the causes and consequences?

ALL I NEED IS AN ABSTRACT FOR MY FINAL PAPER. I WILL INCLUDE MY FINAL PAPER SO YOU CAN READ IT AND WRITE AN ABSTRACT THAT FITS IT BEST.

Hiba Hamad

West Coast University

General Education Capstone

Professor Jawad Ali

December 2, 2020

Opiate Addiction Epidemic among People of Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds

Opiates involve the usage of controlled prescribed substances obtained from opium. Medically, opiates related drugs are used towards treating either severe or mild pain in patients. Following these drugs’ ability to provide future effects, most people, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States, project a high abuse rate (Griffith and France, 2018). The high level of addiction usually starts when both men and women are prescribed for relieving pain after injury or accident. Notably, opiate addiction escalates the death rates of low socioeconomic individuals in the U.S, as provided by the Federal Drug Administration (Scommegna, 2018). In this case, the opiate addiction epidemic results in regions recording a high degree of hospitalizations and deaths from illicit opioid prescriptions. The shocking story projects that the fatality rate among men and women of low socioeconomic status proceed to climb, leading to the attraction of intense attention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unit. The recent statistic reveals that the death rate spike up to about 40,001 yearly following a surge in the opioid epidemic. Therefore, this paper seeks to explain the leading causes, consequences, and pragmatic solutions of the opiate addiction epidemic among men and women of low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Causes of Opiate addiction Epidemic

The low level of education is one of the critical causes of the opiate addiction epidemic. In this case, men and women from low socioeconomic backgrounds lack proper awareness of the dangers of opioid overdose and the ideal medical prescription. Also, lowly educated individuals tend to remain ignorant of the risks associated with opioid addiction for relieving pain as overdose it almost all the entire life (Scommegna, 2018). Researchers under the U.S opioid epidemic have evaluated the opiate addiction epidemic’s status among persons at all educational levels. Many findings indicate that the registered deaths have become more concentrated among those with low academic levels, such as the multiple cases recorded among non-Hispanic white populations. For instance, Scommegna (2018) provided that opioid mortality rate among non-Hispanic population white is project as 99% of development of life expectancy gap. Therefore, opioid addiction can be blamed for 42% gap in death rate between educated and uneducated persons. As such, most educated men and women in the U.S have a long-life expectancy compared to lowly educated adults (Scommegna, 2018). The gap keeps broadening following differences in educational patterns resulting in a steep rising in the opiate addiction epidemic among low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Another cause of the opiate addiction epidemic among those from low socioeconomic levels is unemployment. Being unemployed is associated with many kinds of evils, such as violence, crime, and substance abuse (Griffith and France, 2018). It also triggers a high degree of stress, depression, and anxiety, which stir people to find a coping strategy. Following this, they begin experimenting and abusing readily available marketed drugs such as opioids. Besides, unemployment creates idle time that increases the danger in which an individual might fall into the peer pressure of abusing opioids (Griffith and France, 2018). Without a doubt, there is a close association between opioid epidemic addiction and unemployment.

The opiate addiction epidemic among low socioeconomic backgrounds is also caused by a low level of income or resources. According to Griffith and France (2018), men and women of this status tend to secure low-paid jobs that offer no guarantee of getting enough income carter for household and personal expenses, mainly health insurance coverage. For example, many low-income earners in the U.S have secured Medicaid programs that cover only the necessary medical expenses, hence failing to access specialized treatment. As a result, health professionals have opted to embrace the prescriptions of opioids to patients that contribute to a higher percentage of individuals prone to the opiate addiction epidemic. Logically, as asserted by Griffith and France (2018), higher-income earners have better access to quality medical services in which the prescription of opioid is recommended and maintained by medical specialists, unlike low-income earners. Still, the low cost of opioids promotes its affordability for low-income people, which is a crucial indicator of the increasing number of people visiting healthcare facilities daily (Griffith and France, 2018). Limited incomes create channels for financial incentives for individuals to engage in schemes that include reselling opioids. These actions increase the availability of drugs from multiple doctors, hence the higher chances of addiction.

Consequences of Opiate addiction Epidemic

Increase in the number of hospitalized individual deaths. It is evidenced where research shows that the frequency rose to about 50% in the years 2013 to 2017. In 2013 there were 8.6% out of 100000 inhabitants hospitalized where the number rose to 12% in 2017. Overdose demises of opioid-related hospitalization indicate that rural regions with higher per capita sales of opioids hence high death rates and hospitalization (Oderda et al. 2015). In 2016, the death rate due to the overdose of drugs in the rural areas was also estimated to about 18.7 deaths every 100000 individuals. It indicates that the death rates had risen by 4.8 times in the last six years. Hospitalization and fatalities were also concentrated in several geographic areas. The areas included northern California and southwestern Oregon. In other parts of the country, the relationship is more scattered, especially New Zealand, which has had comparatively high rates of the sales of opioids sales and overdose deaths in recent years.

Fig 1. Opioid Associated Deaths

Secondly, here have been increased poverty levels and unemployment during the recession. Specifically, the unemployment levels peaked in 2010, where it rose nearly to 10%, while poverty rates increased distinctly in the year 2011 to 2016. Counties with high unemployment rates and poverty were generally the ones with increased opioids sales and even Medicare prescriptions for opioids. Likewise, employment measures were associated with high deaths (Oderda. et al., 2015). An increase in 1% of counties’ unemployment was associated with a 4% rise in the sales of opioids. The employment to population ratio is usually negatively related to these indicators. According to the research, counties and regions with a high prevalence of opioids have worse prospects for the economy.

Pragmatic Solutions

Opioid Education

Providing opioid education is one of the crucial solution approaches as it enlightens medical specialists and patients regarding its usage and the progress against the crisis. The government should collaborate with relevant drug usage and control units to develop policies that curb opioid addiction and misuse (Scommegna, 2018). The regulations need to outline precise techniques that suppress the increase of opioid-associated deaths. The medical specialist needs to be in the frontline to educate individuals about promoting wellness and behaviors in dealing with the opioid crisis. In line with this, relevant drug control units should launch mass media campaigns to create awareness of opioid usage and related risks.

Additionally, on the same matters of opioid education, medical education specialists can develop curricula to educate learners on substance abuse and prevention, which applies as a practical approach to school-based learning techniques. This aspect should be accompanied by educational programs and outreach to offer education on risks associated with a drug overdose, such as deaths (Scommegna, 2018). The information should be current and topic selections focusing on medication conditions, treatment, and recovery due to opioid usage.

Establishing rural health clinic technical program for Assistance.

It involves an agreement that is cooperative, including collaboration with a single entity to provide practical assistance, resources, tools, and various strategies. These will be easy to access, especially to the geographically rural health clinics. The health centers will also use this opportunity to inform the low backgrounds, advising them on appropriate ways to avoid the abuse of opioids. The Assistance includes the use of topics related to public health priorities, such as ending the epidemic to make individuals deal with the problem thoroughly (Park & Otte, 2019). Hence, it will help reduce the pain of hospitalization facing the counties at large. The programs also involve grants for evidence-based agendas whose objective is to reduce opioid overdose, leading to hospitalization and deaths. Projects mainly central on those low economic backgrounds that are positively affected by the epidemic. Furthermore, the programs use a joint funding partnership, which is used to provide various services and activities intended to increase individuals’ security and welfare. It, in turn, assist I permanency outcomes, which enhance safety for the backgrounds affected.

Patient identification and intervention

Another significant aspect of reducing the opioid epidemic is a high-risk intervention. It encompasses a much more medical approach that uncovers patterns of individuals’ drug utilization, indicating the current use of drugs and misuse designs. Then there is surveillance by the prescriber on how to monitor drug-related abusers to dispense any patterns and shut down any potential abusive use of opioids. There is the deployment of much more comprehensive analytics to recognize outliers and physicians that might be contributing to the crisis related to opioids (Park & Otte, 2019). Furthermore, it involves practices concerned with health and behaviors that are not ethical in the market places to curb the drugs’ abuse. Individuals who have been affected by the previous overdose are also supported through substance abuse medication and advice. It ensures that the victims have adequate access to necessary resources, behavioral healthiness, and medication treatment to help backgrounds that are low in economy levels. It allows the individuals to deal with problems accompanying them, such as poverty since they can use the capital to buy food stuff and do beneficial jobs.

Conclusion

The opiate addiction epidemics threaten people’s lives, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, since it causes high death rates and hospitalization. One of the causes of this addictive behavior is mainly caused by a low level of education, leading to poor decision-making and unawareness. Unemployment is another cause of idleness in engaging in opioid abuse, peer pressure, and inability to access specialized care. Low income earning also stir opiate addiction resulting in affordability of readily available opioids and failure to meet medical experiences. These aspects have increased the mortality rate, hospitalization, and poverty. Implementing educational programs and awareness is a sure way to curb the opiate addiction epidemic and collaboration of government with relevant drug control units.

References

Griffith, C and France, B, L. (2018). Socio-Economic Impact on Opioid Addiction

Susceptibility. Edelweiss Publications. Retrieved from http://edelweisspublications.com/articles/22/220/Socio-Economic-Impact-on-Opioid-Addiction-Susceptibility

Oderda, G. M., Lake, J., Rüdell, K., Roland, C. L., & Masters, E. T. (2015). Economic burden of

prescription opioid misuse and abuse: a systematic review. Journal of pain & palliative

care pharmacotherapy, 29(4), 388-400.

Park, K., & Otte, A. (2019). Prevention of opioid abuse and treatment of opioid addiction:

current status and future possibilities. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 21, 61-

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Scommegna, P. (2018). Opioid Overdose Epidemics Hits Hardest for the Least Educated.

Population Reference Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.prb.org/people-and-places-hardest-hit-by-the-drug-overdose-epidemic/