The Prevalence of Adolescent Substance Abuse: Treatment Regimen

The Prevalence of Adolescent Substance Abuse: Treatment Regimen

The problem of drugs and substance abuse is a huge menace to the society. The estimated annual expenses associated with alcohol in the United States is estimated to be $185 billion,  while $181 billion is estimated to be the cost associated with other drugs abuse and the consequences. Substance use has a negative impact on public health and human development (Rios et al., 2012). Substance abuse has been known to create issues related to cognition, health behaviors, antisocial behavior, and educational attainment. The topic under study is the prevalence of opioids and other substance abuse among young adults aged 24-40 and the treatment regimen of the substance abuse.

Description of the Problem

Drug and substance among young adults have proved to be a major public health problem in the United States. The two most commonly substance abuse among the young adults is alcohol and tobacco. Other drugs include marijuana, inhalants, hallucinogens, cocaine (Sutfin, Song, Reboussin, & Wolfson, 2014). The abuse of and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers has in the recent past had great effects on the health, social, and economic welfare. In the US, studies have indicated that approximately 2.1 million people suffer from substance use disorders associated with prescription opioid pain relievers while over 400,000 are addicted to heroin.

 The effects of this problem are devastating and continue to increase. This calls for a treatment regimen to address the complex problem of prescription opioids and heroin abuse. The unique character of this phenomenon is that while it is critical to tackle to negative and growing concerns of opioid abuse, it is also equally important to maintain this substance on the market for their use in legitimate pain relieving and healing effect. The treatment regimen prescribed in this case will be the medication-assisted treatment. 

Setting of the Problem

The treatment regimen for treating the abuse of opioid prescribed in my capstone project is the medication-assisted treatment. The treatment regimen is set in a hospital setting where physicians use buprenorphine to deal with the problem of opioid addiction. In this treatment plan, the process of treatment includes treatment, stabilization, and maintenance. The hospital settings allow physicians to provide the comprehensive and maximally effective opioid addiction care.

A High-Level Description of the Problem

The treatment of substance abuse especially on opioid has in most cases been treated in an effective means where physicians deal with substance-related disorders such as infectious diseases. Inadequate resources prevent them from dealing with the concurrent substance issue itself. The medication-assisted treatment regimen offers new hope in dealing with substance abuse where physicians have adequate resources to deal with the complication arising from the use of opioid abuse and addiction. The treatment regimen involves the entire process such as induction, stabilization, and maintenance (Stotts, Dodrill, & Kosten, 2010). The availability of unprecedented availability of cheap heroin and fentanyl has seen to an increase in the number of opioid abuse-related deaths. The number of deaths due to opioid abuse in 1999 was approximately 100 but has since increased to over 1200 deaths by the end of 2016. This indicates that the North Carolina needs a treatment regimen to tackle the issue. 

Impact of the Problem

The impacts of substance abuse are felt across various sectors including the economic, social, financial, and health issues (Clark & Brook, 2015). It has been estimated that about 5% of stroke cases among young adults aged 18-44 years. Alcohol use and marijuana use among young adults has been associated with higher childhood family social, economic status (ME, Wightman, P, Scheoni, & Schulenberg, 2012).

Significance of the Problem

The medication-assisted treatment regimen will include the use of buprenorphine. This has been found to be largely effective in reducing opiate drug abuse and cravings. The treatment plan includes medication offered at the hospitals by controlled physicians. The treatment plan is gradual and allows the patients to reduce the drug abuse slowly. Increased time on the therapy reaches a point where the doctor may then prescribe take-home medications. The treatment regimen is most effective when incorporated in the general healthcare settings. This will also include the promotion of prevention interventions that will be a focus on young adults between 24 and 40 years. 

Proposed Solution

The proposed solution to deal with this problem will be using a treatment regimen that is suitable for this age group. The treatment regimen will be a medication-assisted treatment. It will be offered in a healthcare facility and administered by a physician. It will include stages such as induction, stabilization, and maintenance. 

References

  Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (2004). Clinical guidelines for the use of buprenorphine in the treatment of opioid addiction. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Clark, T., & Brook, J. (2015). Perceived discrimination, depressive symptoms, and substance use among African-American and Afro-Caribbean young adults. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 146, e247-e248

Patrick, M. E., Wightman, P., Schoeni, R., & Schulenberg, J. (2012). socioeconomic status and substance use among young adults . Journal of Studies in Alcohol Drugs, 772-782.

Proescholdbell, S. (2016). Opioid overdose and North Carolina’s public health and prevention strategies. Retrieved from https://www.ncleg.net/DocumentSites/Committees/NCCFTF/Presentations/2016-2017/Overdose%20Update%20Proescholdbell%2010-20-16.pdfSutfin, E. L., Song, E. Y., Reboussin, B. A., & Wolfson, M. (2014). What are young adults smoking in their hookahs? A latent class analysis of substances smoked. Addictive Behaviors, 39(7), 1191-1196.