Drug Abuse as a Leading Social and Health Problem in Houston - Essay Example

? Public health Public health Introduction Drug abuse is a leading social and health problem in Houston. Some of the leading factors contributing to the high rate of drug abuse among TX population in Harris County include the high crime rates, poor parenting, poor educational and employment opportunities and cultural stereotypes. The campaign against substance abuse should target at providing employment and training opportunities, establishing community support networks and increasing social cohesion among TX population. Some challenges to improving the population health include the global issues like illicit drug cartels, high immigration, and environmental challenges like controlling air and water pollution. Another challenge is availability of relevant medical databases that can predict the future health care needs of the population. A health surveillance system should be implemented to record the causes of deaths, diseases, the demographic characteristics of the patients and determinants of health of each individual like the income levels. Population health campaign for substance abuse/drug abuse for Harris County, Houston, TX population Substance abuse/drug abuse, including the abuse of prescribed medications and alcohol abuse significantly affects the health and well-being of many adult and American youths. Substance abuse is linked with the increase in fatal road accidents, the high crime rates, street violence and escalating health costs in American economy. it is estimated that drug abuse costs the US economy $ 275 billion in health care costs and contributes to more than 130,000 deaths annually. Harris County, Houston, TX population should implement a drug abuse campaign in order to reduce the high rates of substance abuse. Harris County has an estimated population of 4,180,900 people. It is the fifth largest Metropolitan area in the US with the largest city being Houston. Drug abuse contributes to instances of high crime rates in Houston. The substance abuse among the TX population is responsible for medical and public health problems. Rapid social, economic and cultural changes have contributed to high drug abuse in Houston. One of the social policies that should be included in the health campaign is to encourage family cohesion and good parenting skills. The family shapes the attitudes, perceptions and values of the youth towards substance abuse. It has been noted that lack of household stability and domestic violence is one of the social causes of drug abuse since it contributes to the low academic performance of the youths and low incomes levels of the families. Disrupted families put the youths at risk since most of them join drug abuse gangs in order to attain social acceptance in the communities (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 595). The public health campaign will aim at educating the parents to stop drug abuse since this worrying trend is transmitted to their youthful children. It is acknowledged that youths are at a greater risk of negative peer influence if the parents fail in playing their traditional supervisory role of imparting high moral values and need of self-confidence among the youths. Chaotic family environment leads to emotional problems that may impair the adolescent judgment thus leading to alcohol abuse and later substance abuse. Traumatic life experiences such as sexual abuse and physical assault lead to detrimental outcomes such as feelings of suicide thus ultimately leading the victim to abuse drugs (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 599). The population health campaign will also address the economic causes of drug abuse in TX population. The public health campaign will aim at reducing poverty in the society. Poverty is a major contributor of crime and drug abuse in the society. Poverty deprives individuals’ basic services such as clothing and good shelter. The campaign will aim at combating the poverty levels by facilitating education and skills training for all youths at risk of drug abuse. The campaign will aim at encouraging the local development organizations and community support groups to provide more education and training opportunities for the youths who mainly engage in drug abuse due to life frustration and unemployment. Poor academic attainment lowers the chances of accessing meaningful employment thus increasing the chances of participating in substance abuse for economic purposes. Poor schooling also increases chances of aggressive behaviors and street violence that is also linked to substance abuse thus the campaign will foster teenage education, training and employment opportunities creation. The cultural policies of the population health campaign will address the social structures and negative stereotyping of some members of the population. Cultural factors such as ethnicity and race, traditions and beliefs are some causes of high drug abuse in Harris County. There is a negative perception among the public and negative stereotypes that members from some ethnic or racial groups are naturally drug addicts. For instance, Black Americans and Hispanics living in Harris County mainly engage in drug abuse to conform to the public labeling and stereotyping. The campaign will promote cultural cohesion and avoidance of cultural stereotypes that make members from minority cultural groups lower their self-esteem. The campaign will also address the problem of racial gangs operating in Harris County that mainly engage in drug abuse to finance their criminal activities and maintain social acceptance among the gang members (Humphreys & McLellan, 277). Recommended programs, policies, laws and environmental aspects for assessing the health and wellness of Harris County population One of the recommended approaches for assessing the health and wellness of Harris County, Houston, TX population is through assessing the rate of drug laws enforcement and prevention in the community. Harris County should implement laws that limit the demand and supply of drugs in the County. For instance, teenage underage drinking should be strictly prohibited through ensuring that alcohol selling outlets are not located near educational facilities and advertising on the mass media is strictly controlled. All educational institutions should be compelled to provide training to students on the need to restrain from drug and alcohol abuse (Humphreys & McLellan, 278). Another program that can be implemented to asses the health and wellness of TX population is community support programs that aim at maintaining the good functioning of the family structure. This includes provision of education opportunities on the need of proper parenting and elimination of domestic violence. Members from low income families should also be supported through education and employment opportunities provision by the community based groups (Humphreys & McLellan, 276). In order to assess the wellness of the TX population, the policy makers should aim at reducing the crime levels, eliminating discrimination and cultural stereotyping in order to create cohesive communities in Harris County. The policy makers should also monitor the risk-taking behaviors trends like alcohol use and tobacco smoking in the target communities. Another approach of assessing the health and wellness of TX population is ascertaining the improvement in the access and quality of health care services and social amenities in Harris County. This can be done by comparing the enrollment rates in institutions of higher learning, the unemployment trend, the access to proper housing services in the neighborhoods and social security services. The enrollment rate in schools will indicate the level of access to proper education and training and ultimately the possible reduction in poverty levels in the society. Access to proper housing and social security services will create family relationships stability thus reducing the instances of child neglect and domestic violence in the community which is a leading cause of drug abuse (Humphreys & McLellan, 280). The environmental aspects that can be used to assess the health and wellness of TX population will include the working conditions and public safety, the quality of air and water to the population, the transport and communication infrastructure and waste disposal in the County. Harris County authorities should implement strict environmental regulations on building design and provide street lighting in order to enhance security and order in the community thus reducing the crime rate and drug abuse (Humphreys & McLellan, 282). Harris County should force all employers to create a drug-free working environment. This will be done through implementing written policies against substance abuse in the workplace. All employees should be informed of the company policies on drugs, alcohol and smoking. The employers should also implement smoking cessation programs and wellness programs in order to assist employees addicted by drugs. Employers should also require new employees to be tested of substance use in laboratories approved by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Counseling services should be provided to employees experiencing work related stress in order to reduce the risk of engaging in substance abuse (Humphreys & McLellan, 283). Challenges of improving TX population health There are numerous challenges that will be experienced by the policy makers in improving TX population. These challenges include the environmental factors, the global implications of drug abuse control and disease prevention challenges. One of the challenges of improving the population health in TX population is challenges associated with accessing data and samples. The regulatory environment contains the access of patient information and use of databases that contain patients medical and health information. Data protection laws require strict protection of confidential health information and privacy thus denying the health policy makers the opportunity of designing programs that aim at assessing and improving the population health (Humphreys & McLellan, 280). Environmental factors such as exposure to toxic substances like air and water pollution pose challenges in improving the health of TX population. Poor air quality is linked with the increase in cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular complications. It is difficult in controlling the toxic air emissions and improving the access to quality water due to poor structural design of Harris County. The built environment affects the social support networks, the crime rates and access to drug abuse thus exposing the youths to substance abuse at an early age (Humphreys & McLellan, 284). Another challenge is the global implications of banning or imposing strict regulations on the use, packaging, labeling and promotion of tobacco related products. Tobacco processing companies have failed in disclosing the harmful effects in labeling their products or restricting the advertisements in mass media thus promoting the access of tobacco products to minors (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 598). Controlling the supply of drugs to Houston and Harris County is difficult. The problem has been complicated by the illicit drug cartel that has international networks in most of the parts of the world. Drug trafficking cartels engage in all manner of tactics to escape any possible seizure of their shipments to major cities in the United States. Epidemiology that managers can use to make decisions on ground and anticipate future trends Epidemiology is the study of the causes, patterns and effects of health and disease on the target population. It provides evidence-based data to ground managers and guides the policy making process in responding to future medical needs. It entails statistical collection and analysis of the health care data. Disease surveillance and clinical screening are some common epidemiology that managers at the ground can utilize in responding to substance abuse in the TX population (Scheirer & Dearing, 2059). Public health surveillance is suitable in collecting, analyzing and interpreting data on the health of the population. The ground managers should collect data on the deaths, injuries, diseases and crime rates that are linked to drug abuse in the population. The health morbidity surveillance will indicate the number and trend of substance abuse related deaths, the injuries and other respiratory diseases linked with drug abuse (Scheirer & Dearing, 2062). Several substance abuse surveillance systems should be installed in medical facilities, in law enforcement facilities to monitor the number of individuals convicted of drug abuse and in communities to monitor the number of people engaging in drug abuse related behaviors such as crime and street violence and aggression (Scheirer & Dearing, 2064). The surveillance system will determine and assess the population health needs and impacts of the intervention policies and programs in controlling the rate of drug abuse. The surveillance can effectively evaluate the accessibility of intervention programs, and quality of TX population based-health services in combating substance abuse (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 601). The surveillance should indicate the causes of deaths, the demographic characteristics of the patients, the hazards to health like unsafe drinking water, the determinants of health of the population like the income and social support groups and finally the behaviors or lifestyles of the population members like the alcohol abuse, physical exercise and drug abuse (Scheirer & Dearing, 2065). Conclusion A population health campaign should be implemented in Harris County, Houston, TX population to control the high rate of drug abuse. The campaign should address the social, economic and cultural contributors of substance abuse among the population. The campaign should aim at increasing the education and employment opportunities of the youthful population that is at risk of engaging in drug abuse. The campaign should aim at ensuring good parenting and family stability in order to reduce emotional stress that may leads some members to engage in drug abuse. The campaign needs to train the members on how to build self-esteem and confidence that is critical in resisting negative peer pressure. The campaign should eliminate the cultural stereotyping and labeling of members from some racial groups since this lowers their self-esteem thus participating in street violence, gangs and drug abuse. Some laws that can be implemented to assess the health and wellness of the population include controlling underage alcohol consumption, controlling the crime rates and improving the access to education. Employers should create drug-free working environments and provide counseling services to employees suffering from work related stress. Tobacco labeling and advertising should include messages of the harmful health effects of the contents while the build environment should be designed to control levels of crime. Some challenges experienced in improving the population health include the access to confidential health information, controlling the global illicit drug cartels and ensuring the safety of physical environment like controlling the air and water pollution. Managers at the ground should implement population health surveillance systems that record the deaths, diseases and other health complication resulting from drug abuse in order to enable future interventions to the trend. References: Humphreys, K & McLellan, A. "Brief intervention, treatment, and recovery support services for Americans who have substance use disorders: An overview of policy in the Obama administration”. Psychological Services, Vol 7(4), Nov 2010, 275-284. Marlatt, G.A & Witkiewitz, K. “Update on harm-reduction policy and intervention policy”, Annual review of clinical psychology. Vol 6, 2010: 591-606.. Print. Scheirer, M.A & Dearing, J.W. “An agenda for research on the sustainability of public health programs”, American journal of public health. Vol 101 (11), November 2011, 2059- 2067. Read More