Intravenous Drug Users Issues - Assignment Example

Intravenous drug users Intravenous drug users are those individuals that use syringes in administering drugs in their bodies.The drug mostly used by these addicts is heroine. Different biases have been shown towards these patients, and this is evident through the way these individuals are received especially in health centers. There are those individuals who believe that this people are a source of their own problems like skin infections. These biases highly affect the kind of medical care they receive especially from health personnel’s. Intravenous drug users can be affected by infections such cellulites’ and abscess. This paper will focus on the on the vulnerability of the youths towards intravenous drug abuse. The most vulnerable population of this abuse is the youth’s offenders this is according to the study carried out in South Australia. These youths are mostly found in areas that are densely populated. Lack of good storage techniques of syringes encourages intravenous drug use among the youths. Statistics indicate that there is less use of drugs in youths that are under the care of the parents than those that are on the streets. An assessment was carried out among the youths to acquire appropriate data on the usage of drugs. Most youths were not ready to comply with this assessment. It was later found that intravenous drug abuse is most common among the youths of the age between 14-19 years old (Chin 133). The youths seem to abuse drugs more than the adults. Substance abuse increases with an increase in age. Male youths have been reported to abuse drugs more than women. This abuse among youth’s emanates from environmental factors and also social factors. Intravenous drug users get to learn from there peers. Youths who reside in urban centers are reported to be the most vulnerable towards drug abuse. These youths are influenced into substance abuse by those individuals that have a close connection to the drugs. The new initiates are injected or advised by those that are older than them or rather those that have more experience than them. Gender plays a major role in analyzing on the vulnerability of the youths to drug abuse. Girls are believed to be highly influenced by their male counterparts than the males. A study carried out in Canada proved that the high spread of substance abuse was due to the high level of homelessness among the youths. Therefore, this homeless children resort to staying in the streets where they are lured into substance use. Others participate in transportation or selling of these drugs to earn a living (Chin 139). Another contributing factor to the usage of drugs is stress among the youths who later resort to abuse of drugs. Adults play a role in fueling drug use among the use for instance ignorance among parents on their children’s welfare, there are adults who encourage intravenous drug use by selling drugs and syringes to the youths. Abuse of drugs has had negative far reaching effects on the youth population. Most cases of HIV/AIDS has been caused due to substance abuse. Unplanned pregnancies have also bee caused by substance abuse therefore leading to production of children by children. Intravenous drug abuse is sometimes caused by an individual’s ignorance. Most youths are adamant to the teachings and blind to the negative effects that accrue from substance abuse. Another reason to the high substance abuse is school drop outs. Most undisciplined students drop out of school to engage in substance abuse. They do not care about the effects of these drugs to their health. Effects of intravenous drug abuse have been made known worldwide therefore; the youth’s engagement in this act cannot be blamed to the environmental factors but rather themselves (McCarthy 16). Research is very important in shaping ones attitudes. The bias that has been formed against the intravenous drug users can be changed through research. This is because we get to learn different factors that lead to substance abuse among the youths. An individual will be able to understand that not all youths engage in drug use at there own will but rather there are different political, social and economic factors that contribute to this. Adults have been greatly blamed in certain circumstances where they are believed to be the major contributor to substance abuse among the youths (Chin 201). There have been great biases towards this population by different individuals. They range from the media to health care personnel. The media has failed in focusing on the vulnerability of the youths. In most cases youths are reprimanded for their actions not considering on the environmental factors. Youths are known to behave according to the environmental factors it means that the environment plays an integral part in shaping the youths behavior. Counseling sessions are often ignored for the youths. Poverty among the youths force them to engage in this evil acts which later affect them in a great way. The rich in the society sometimes use this youths for their own personal gains in selling and abusing f these substance. Political factors also play a major role in the increase of the intravenous drug abuse among the youths. Lack of strategies that can check on the economic growth usually sees most poor youths engage in drug use. Through research we understand that the youths unlike the adults are ignorant of certain environmental issue like HIV/AIDS. They are not conversant with the spread of this scourge this is to mean they are not provided with necessary guidelines on how to relate in the society but rather faces prejudice from the adults (McCarthy 16). This is the reason to why they offered with poor medical care in different health care centers. Most nurses believe that the youths are merely ignorant and a stubborn species. This research is also important in administration of good healthcare services. Research is important I the sense that doctors will understand on the necessity of carrying out cancelling sessions to the victims. These counseling sessions are to be carried out in a conducive environment or rather friendly so that the patients can be motivated to come for more counseling sessions. Most patients evade treatment due to the kind of attitude they receive from the health care personnel’s. Doctors are therefore advised not to show bias towards these individuals for this leads to withdrawal among the patients (McBrewste 45). The issue of intravenous drug abuse among the youths can be addressed in different ways. Harsh laws should be formulated against those individuals that recruit the youths into usage of drugs. Responsibility among parents should be encouraged; this is because most youths engage in unlawful act due to the parent’s negligence. Therefore parents are to check on the characters of their children to avoid indulgence. Another important factor is providing youths with the reality of life, the youths are to be allowed to come in contact with what happens in life. Parents should not be afraid of providing necessary information like the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other diseases that emanate from substance use. The media and the society at large should avoid pointing fingers at the youths but rather offer focus on the factors that promote drug abuse among the youths (McBrewste 72). My perception has greatly changed towards intravenous drug users this due to the fact that there problems are not necessarily caused by them, but rather other factors attribute to their problems. They therefore deserve provision of good health care services, this will reduce stigma among these patients. It will also encourage the patients to attend counseling sessions where they can helped on how to come out of there situation. It can be noted that the youths occupy a large percentage of the population all over the world, therefore measures should be formulated in controlling there behavior. To conclude, nurses are to be taught on the negative effects of bias towards intravenous drug abuse patients. One of these effects is withdrawal of the patient. Work cited Chin, Jean Lau. Diversity in Mind and in Action. Chicago: Praeger/ABC-CLIO, 2009. McBrewster, John. Cognitive Bias. Saarbrucken: VDM Publishing House Ltd, 2009. McCarthy, Bill. Mean streets: youth crime and homelessness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Read More