Executive Summary
This policy memo aims to communicate what needs to be done regarding opioid addiction among senior citizens. Since the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is well-financed by the federal government, it needs to develop robust strategies regardless of the cost. There is a need to strengthen partnership with public safety initiatives, restrict the opioid supply, put overdose data to use, and develop a quantitative model for guiding policy formulation.
Background
Chronic pain and opioid misuse among senior citizens are interrelated issues that remain to be of concern in the U.S. Prolonged use results to addictions, which could further lead to fatal overdoses, and, in 2018, more than 67,000 people died of overdose and abuse of opioids in the U.S. (Ford et al., 2018). With 750,000 deaths recorded between 1999 and 2018, there is a need to strengthen government efforts meant for control the use of opioids according to Ford et al. (2018). Since then, there have been many attempts to curb opioid abuse across the US.
Policy Options
Putting Overdose Data to Action
This policy was pioneered by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in 2019, mostly dealing with data collection to enhance policy formulation. Therefore, devising ways of using overdose data collected under this policy could assist relevant bodies in decision making. Not all opioid overdoses lead to death, but its use, especially in overdose, is currently the leading cause of deaths recorded from drug abuse (Ford et al., 2018). According to Jones et al. (2017), data collection initiatives on their use need to be strengthened to document where this drug is sourced from, and why senior citizens turn into opioid use. This would inform and facilitate community-related health education campaigns.
Partnership with Public Safety
There is need for a more comprehensive partnership strategy between government agencies and the public in this fight against opioid addiction. According to Dayer et al. (2019), existing partnerships have been failing terribly because, in most case, they only focus on the high-intensity drug trafficking areas. According to Jones et al. (2017), such a partnership can only succeed if there exists a clear framework of equipping first responders with the relevant information needed to discourage drug abuse among senior citizens. With well-trained personnel in such areas, chances are high that laws of drug control are well enforced.
Policy Recommendations
There is a need for a Quantitative Model
Current efforts to improve prescriber pain education and knowledge about prescription opioid misuse are inadequate and at risk of collapsing. According to Jones et al. (2017), prevention of opioid abuse can be achieved if the CDC collaborates with other stakeholders. As supported by Ford et al. (2018), this would assist in formulating a model which is tailored to address both the illicit and prescribed use of the drug. Currently, there is need to educate healthcare workers on the best practices when prescribing opioids use.
There is a Need for National Strategies of Restricting Supply
Formulating strategies for cutting the traffic channels of opioids can help fight this epidemic. According to Dayer et al. (2019), after discontinuation of prescribed opioid use among senior citizens, monitoring could ensure that patients do not continue using this product illicitly. Consequently, as argued by Jones et al. (2017), this will lead to reduced usage of opioids among seniors hence reducing the rate of addiction. Therefore, controlling prescribed use would lead to less opioid addiction because people have the information, and illicit supply chains are cut off.
The Risk Ahead
The number of people addicted to opioid use is growing every year. Among the fatalities of opioid abuse are senior citizens who manage giant businesses in the country and help build the economy in different capacities (Benson, 2019). Though the worst result from opioid addiction is death, there still exist challenges such as absenteeism from work and reduced productivity. Therefore, without proper approaches for controlling this epidemic, the government will continue to lose people and other vital resources.
References
Benson, K. E. (2019). Opioids. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Dayer, L. E., Breckling, M. N., Kling, B. S., Lakkad, M., McDade, E. R., & Painter, J. T. (2019). Association of the “CDC guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain” with emergency department opioid prescribing. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 57(5), 597-602. Web.
Ford, J. A., Hinojosa, M. S., & Nicholson, H. L. (2018). Disability status and prescription drug misuse among U.S. adults. Addictive Behaviors, 85, 64-69. Web.
Jones, C. M., Christensen, A., & Gladden, R. M. (2017). Increases in prescription opioid injection abuse among treatment admissions in the United States, 2004–2013. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 176, 89-95. Web.