Family Misconceptions

Opioid addiction is so prevalent in the healthcare system because of the countless number of hospital patients being treated for chronic pain. While opioid analgesics have beneficial painkilling properties, they also yield detrimental dependence and addiction. There is a legitimate need for the health care system to provide powerful medications because prolonged pain limits activities of daily living, work productivity, quality of life, etc. (Taylor, 2015). Patients need to receive appropriate pain treatment, however, opioids need to be prescribed after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

Opioid abuse in America is a current health issue, like any other, where we view the problem from an analytical standpoint. While the numbers are devastating my main motivation for choosing this study comes from an emotionally driven place. Personally, I’ve known people who have been sucked into the addictive effects of opioids and, for years, it has affected an entire family’s, that I am close to, life from one person’s abuse of opioids. An example that many don’t think of when they imagine opioid abuse is how a simple mother could go from being an ordinary housewife to an opioid abuser, where her children are too scared to bring friend’s back home due to their mother’s state, and how she’s devolved into a person who steals from her

Nurses, especially nurses working on an Addiction Medicine unit, are well-positioned to provide patient and family education on opioid addiction (Manworren, 2015; Painter, 2017). Effective patient and family education can theoretically improve the capacity for patients at risk for opioid dependence and/or patients experience opioid dependence to cope with the problem, reduce risks, and prevent relapse (Costello et al., 2016; McNeil et al., 2015). Nurses working on an inpatient unit provide patient education as part of regular daily care and during the course of discharge planning and management (Costello et al., 2016). Patient and family education related to the patient’s diagnosis and/or reason for admission is standard practice on most units. However, nurses, including nurses working on an addiction treatment unit, may lack sufficient knowledge in opioid addiction prevention and management to provide suitable patient-centered education to patients and their families (Costello et al., 2016). Moreover, there is currently no established model or protocol for nursing-directed patient and family opioid addiction education (Costello et al., 2016; Manworren,

According to the SAMHSA (2010) report on the national survey on drug use and health almost 22.5 million people are reported to be associated with substance abuse disorder (SAMHSA, 2010). This illness was found to be very common in all age groups, both sex, and seniors. There are several effects on these individuals and their families. Many people who suffer from substance abuse disorders fail to acknowledge these serious consequences. First of all, no response of pain relief can be seen with smaller doses of pain medications, as their bodies are used to high levels of various substances at the same time. Nurses become frustrated when they try to treat and help these patients with pain. Sometimes it is difficult to think about ethical principles when nurses have to deal with such patients with pain and suffering.

The United States currently faces an unprecedented epidemic of opioid addiction. This includes painkillers, heroin, and other drugs made from the same base chemical. In the couple of years, approximately one out of twenty Americans reported misuse or abuse of prescriptions painkillers. Heroin abuse and overdoses are on the rise and are the leading cause of injury deaths, surpassing car accidents and gun shots. The current problem differs from the opioid addiction outbreaks of the past in that it is also predominant in the middle and affluent classes. Ultimately, anyone can be fighting a battle with addiction and it is important for family members and loved ones to know the signs. The cause for this epidemic is that the current spike of opioid abuse can be traced to two decades of increased prescription rates for painkillers by well-meaning physicians.

Prescription opioid abuse not only affects the abusers, but it also affects the families of abusers. An example of this is a women named Erin Daly. She wrote a personal narrative story about her experience after her teenage brother overdosed on opioids. Erin gave up her career as a legal reporter to research for an answer on why opioid addiction is becoming a widespread problem in adolescents and young adults. Finally, Erin got ahold of her brother’s journal and saw how his problem that started with gateway drugs, then to prescription opioids from the street, and ended in a lethal overdose of IV heroine. Erin Daly wrote, “ In 2011, 4.2 million Americans ages 12 or older reported using heroin at least once in their lives, and like my brother,

As better and more comprehensive education is provided both to the general public and practicing clinicians the hope is to reduce the negativity surrounding the users of opioids, and to eliminate demeaning language coupled to them as well. This could improve patient morale and help the needless continuation of physical suffering within patients, as they would be more comfortable approaching and using opioids for therapeutic purposes1. That being said there are those within our communities who do abuse these substances and pharmacists must recognize the signs of abusers, it is important for them to reach out, without comment, to help those suffering from opioid abuse once they have been

Doctors and clinical prescribers have discovered their role in curtailing the increased opioid prescriptions in America. It is without a doubt that they play a role in facilitating the opioid misuse endemic in the past by being enablers of the situations. When patients ask for pain medications, they do not take time to analyze the pain complaints or suggest alternative medications other than opioids. Even in instances when one doctor declines to offer a patient an opioid prescription for their pain needs, the patient is likely to find another who will give the prescription. However, there has been wide recognition of the opioid misuse endemic such that clinical prescribers are practicing more vigilant prescribing and are advocating opioid-free

This lack of independence could further cause the patient to feel hopeless in their own recovery, which would lead to a lack of effort in getting better, causing a strain on the family members who are doing everything they can to improve the patient’s condition. Secondly, in spite of the short term effects, doctors do not practice appropriate care when prescribing opioid-based medications. According to Anna Lembke, in recent years American doctors have been “prescribing opioids with abandon for chronic, non-terminal pain” (“problem”), leading to an “epidemic of opioid painkiller overprescribing” (“Drug”, 57). If the patient feels like the doctor is giving him an opioid medication because it is the easiest course of action to deal with the pain, the patient may not fully trust his or her doctor to have the patient’s best interests at heart. The family of the patient may have the same mistrust for the doctor. Further than mistrust, it is possible that the patient and those caring for him or her may question the doctor’s knowledge and credentials. This mistrust could lead to the patient and the family (specifically the caregiver) neglecting to follow the doctor’s specific instructions as to usage of the medication, which could cause the pain relief to be less effective than is necessary, or could cause the patient to be in

Although addiction and overdose of opioids was not declared an epidemic by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) until 2011, the beginning of the epidemic can be traced back as early as the 1980’s when attention in medical care began to turn toward pain management. By the early 2000’s the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations named pain “the fifth vital sign,” implying that pain is as important clinically as pulse rate, temperature, respiration rate, and blood pressure (Wilson, 2016). At the same time, there has been an emphasis change from patient wellness to patient satisfaction metrics. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Advil, Aleve, or aspirin have raised safety their own safety concerns, contributing to increased use of opioids. The lack of patient access to and insurance coverage for chronic pain management specialists or alternative healing therapies also contributes to the opioid epidemic (Hawk,

Opioid abuse, misuse and overdose is a problem in The United States. You can’t turn on the TV or read a newspaper without some mention of the epidemic. This issue has caused the practice of prescribing or taking narcotic pain medication to be looked at under a microscope. Patients are fearful to use some necessary pain medication, because they may become addicted. Other patients who genuinely do have pain and need medication are having a tougher time obtaining the help they need. The problem of abuse and addiction is tough to solve since for some people the medications are the only way they can function and live a semi-normal life. A patient with pain may be hesitant to visit the doctor and

The source describes the opioid overdose epidemic across the U.S. as a significant issue possibly deriving from economic stress, social isolation, and over-prescribing pain relievers. Action must be taken to help and prevent dependency on opioids in order to stop this rapid rate of overdose throughout America. Proper education is vital for younger and elder generations to know how to prevent opioid dependency.

This evidence based paper focuses on the rate of opioid related overdose and deaths, interventions types and its effectiveness, specifically naloxone. This paper details trends in abuse and mortality, interventions taken to reduce rates of overdose related deaths, Naloxone as an intervention, and it’s availability. The review of literature in this paper leads to the following research question: Does Narcan availability to family members of opioid abusers decrease opioid-related deaths? This question is answered using current research on opiate overdose and naloxone use.

The opioid crisis is greatly affecting communities nationwide. This epidemic has escalating death rates that are ruining families and taking tolls on a whole generation. The issue of the opioid crisis matters to me because it has impacted many people and families, including my own. On November 23, 2013 my high school sweetheart passed away from an overdose at the age of twenty. The experience of being by his bedside with his family for two and a half days while he was on life support is something I will never forget. I had never been through anything like this and never hope to again. This great loss was

Opioid abuse is an epidemic that affects almost every family in the United States. According to Introduction to Public Health book, interventions should be developed to prevent the illnesses and injuries caused by drug abuse. “One approach is to think of prevention on three levels: primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention” (Schneider