Describe the history and current state of the opioid crisis in the United States.
Description should include
- the relationship between opioid prescribing and illicit opioid use to overall opioid overdose deaths
- the prevalence of co-occurring mental health disorders
- the shift in attitudes in the 1990s toward pain management and use of opioids, including the role of pharmaceutical marketing
- the stigma associated with addiction and the changing view of addiction from a moral failing to a chronic, relapsing disease
- statistics, trends, and demographics surrounding the crisis
- population health and other public health aspects of the crisis, including its effects on family and neonates, as well as overall health costs.
Process/Skill Questions:
- How are opioids created?
- Can opioids be safely prescribed to patients taking psychotropic drugs?
- How does society stereotype individuals with a history of drug addiction?
- What are the current trends that have contributed to the nationwide opioid crisis?
- How has the opioid epidemic affected emergency rooms and the first responder system?