Health Advocacy Campaign Against Drunk Driving - Assignment Example

Health Advocacy Campaign: Drunk Driving and ID Due paper Introduction There exist a number of public health issues that need proper attention and advocacy in order for them to be addressed properly. “Advocacy means the act of supporting a person, cause, or proposal” (Davis-Alldritt, 2011, p. 249). Drunk driving is one of those public health issues that need a proper health advocacy campaign because drunk driving not only causes risk for the safety of the driver but also to other passengers on road. “Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDCP], 2015). Driving while drunk or intoxicated is very dangerous because the risk of car accidents increase significantly when a person has a high level of alcoholic content in his/her blood. A large number of vehicular deaths and injuries occur annually in the United States because of drunk driving. It is due to this reason that the government of the United States has taken some prevention measures in collaboration with the state governments and different not-for-profit organizations to decrease the number of incidents associated with drunk driving. “In 2013, the rate of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities per 100,000 population was 3.2, representing a 65% decrease since 1982, when record keeping began” (Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility [FAAR], 2015). Although there has been a great decrease in the number of such casualties for the last two decades, but a lot more still needs to be done to prevent drunk-driving based road accidents. The purpose of this paper is to propose a drunk driving prevention policy based on the review of some existing prevention programs and laws surrounding this public health issue. The paper also includes discussion on the challenges associated with the proposed policy and the ways to overcome those challenges to make the proposed policy applicable in all respects. Targeted Population The people that are more prone to drunk driving include those between 21 to 35 years of age. Therefore, the targeted population for this paper includes adults of the above-mentioned age group. Some of the ways that can be used to reduce the severity of this public health issue include revoking or suspending driver licenses, establishing DWI courts, confiscating or impounding vehicle plates, immobilizing vehicles, increasing fines and incarceration for drunk driving (Hanson, n.d.). Along with all these measures, the most important step that needs to be taken at the government and nursing organizations level is to promote alcohol education all over the United States. Mothers Against Drunk Driving In this regard, various programs have been started which have proved to be successful in reducing the number of road accidents and casualties associated with drunk driving. One of those programs is ‘Mothers Against Drunk Driving’ (MADD). This program was started in 1980 and it has been a successful effort in creating awareness among the citizens of the United States regarding the risks associated with drunk driving. It is basically a not-for-profit organization that targets the issue of drunk driving in four key aspects, which include stopping drunk driving, preventing underage driving, supporting the victims of drunk driving, and advocating for a stronger policy for drunk driving (Hamilton, 2000). “Mothers Against Drunk Drivings (MADD) successful push for 0.08 BAC in all states save an estimated 600–800 lives per year, it is reasonable to estimate that the savings from 0.05 would be somewhat less” (Hurley, 2014, p. 877). The attributes that have made this program successful include advocating for maintaining the drinking age limit to 21 years, helping those affected by drunk driving, educating people about the dangers associated with drunk driving, imposing a strict policy for alcohol use, and dealing with drunk drivers through jail sentences and license suspensions. Along with these attributes, MADD’s public relations campaigns have also played a dynamic role in building the perception of the nation’s attitude about drunk driving, which has resulted in a great reduction in the graph of drunk driving deaths. “MADD was so successful that it reached its goal for 2000 (to reduce alcohol-related deaths by 20%) in 1997” (Center for Organizational Research and Education [CORE], 2015). Students Against Drunk Driving Another program that has been successful in reducing drunk driving in the United States is ‘Students Against Drunk Driving’ (SADD). It is perhaps the largest advocacy program for drunk-driving issue. The main attribute that has made this program so successful is inclusion of students in accomplishment of the mission. SADD has built networks in communities and schools and has engaged students in the efforts towards drunk-driving reduction (Klitzner, Gruenewald, Bamberger, & Rossiter, 1994). This is because students are at the most critical stage of developing drinking habit. Statistics show that high school students are at a huge risk of becoming alcoholics. Nearly five million high school students take alcoholic drinks more than once in a month (AlcoholAlert, 2015). My Proposed Policy Description Although ongoing public health programs have been successful in reducing the rate of drunk driving in the United States, I would like to propose a new policy to make the efforts more fruitful for the cause. In the policy, I would advocate for creating awareness at homes, at schools, at public places, and at organizational level to make people aware of the severity of the issue. Similarly, I would propose a direct imprisonment sentence for the people driving when drunk. For example, if a person is found to be driving while drunk, he/she should be fined heavily and a mark should be placed on his/her driving license. And when that person is found to be drunk driving again, he/she should be imprisoned for two months. The third step of the policy involves extending the legal age of drinking to 23 years. Moreover, I would incorporate the basic elements of the two above-mentioned advocacy programs to make my program more effective for the cause. Enactment of the Policy My proposed policy could be enacted through a modification of existing DWI/DUI law of the United States. According to the law, it is considered a crime to a vehicle if the Blood Alcohol Level (BAL) is 0.08 percent or more than 0.08 percent at the time of driving. In my proposed policy, the level should be brought down to 0.07 percent. This will not only make anti-drinking law more strict but also will cause a threat among habitual drinkers that even a small percentage of BAL would put them in trouble. BAL test should be held mandatory in all cases of road accidents regardless of the nature of the accident. In case an accident occurs, the BAL of the drivers should be checked for knowing whether any of the drivers involved in the accident was drunk or not. In case, a driver’s BAL is found to be 0.07 or above, his/her license should be seized for four months regardless of whether he/she was liable for the accident or not. This will cause a great concern among the drivers and they will not think of drinking while driving. Similarly, the presence of ignition interlock devices in vehicles should be made necessary in all states. Currently, not all states have held these devices to be mandatory in the vehicles. These devices analyze the breath of the drivers and are able to disable the ignition system if the BAL gets to a specific level. These devices should be made mandatory because in this way the drivers will have in their mind that their cars can get locked if they try to drive the car with a high level of alcohol present in their blood. If a car is found without such devices, the license of the driver should be seized for six months. Impact of Existing Laws on Proposed Policy The existing laws or regulations can impact my advocacy efforts in that they can provide me a guideline on which I can base my arguments and proposed solutions for the issue. For example, I have based the limit of BAL to 0.07 which is 0.08 at the moment in the DWI/DUI law of the United States. Now, this level of 0.08 provided me with a base on which I thought about and came up with a proposed decrease in the allowed level. Similarly, I would not have known about the existence of any ignition interlock devices had I not studied the existing laws of the United States about drunk driving. I studied it and came to know that presence of such devices is mandatory in only a few states. Now, I have proposed such devices to be mandatory in cars being driven in all states. Moreover, I have also studied the prevention measures, such as, cancellation of the driving license, fines, and imprisonment while developing my own policy for the issue. These elements show that existing laws about drunk driving have a strong impact on my newly proposed drunk driving prevention policy. Methods to Influence Policymakers As far as the methods I can use to influence legislators or other policymakers to support my policy are concerned, I would start public campaigns in which I will locate the victims of drunk driving accidents and will request them and their families to accompany me in staging rallies for bringing changes to the existing laws. Similarly, I would go to schools, colleges, and communities to create awareness about the proposed changes in order to increase my public support for the cause. Next, I would publish posters that would reveal the need for the implementation of proposed changes. I would distribute those posters in local and multinational organizations, government organizations, and hospitals to create awareness about the need for proposed changes. I think all three legs of successful advocacy, which include the capitol leg, the community leg, and the media leg are equally important in launching a strong campaign for any public health issue. Therefore, I would also try to get the support of media which is one of the most influential sources of pressure on the government authorities in the present world. Obstacles in the Policy In advocating for the changes, some challenges or obstacles may occur. For example, some people may raise their voice against decreasing the BAL to 0.07 percent. Similarly, seizing the driving license in case of being drunk may not appeal to some people and they may launch protests against the change. Moreover, making the presence of ignition interlock devices in cars may also raise objections in some corners. As far as tackling these obstacles are concerned, I would do this using my leadership skills. For example, I would talk to the representatives of the people opposing the changes in order to convince them for the need of the change. I would put in front of them the importance of proposing such changes and would incorporate their concerns in the proposed plan in order to satisfy them. Ethical Concerns Nurses have a big responsibility to maintain ethical standards with the people they deal with (Fowler & American Nurses Association, 2008; American Nurses Association, 2010). In advocacy campaigns, there exist some challenges and ethical concerns that need to be addressed properly in order for the campaign to be successful in all aspects. In my advocacy campaign for drunk-driving public health issue, some ethical dilemmas are likely to arise that I will deal in a proper manner. For example, one ethical dilemma can be that of knowing people’s personal attitude towards drinking. I have planned to conduct a survey to knowing what people think about drunk driving and their personal whisky and beer drinking ratio per month. The ethical dilemma in this case can be misuse of people’s private information in case the information is leaked from my personal computer through hacking. For this reason, I have installed a couple of very effective anti-virus software applications and authentication mechanism that are capable of blocking unauthorized attempts of access to my computer. This is one way of resolving the ethical dilemma that may arise during my advocacy campaign. I would also ensure the research participants that their personal information would not be used anywhere other than for this specific purpose of launching a well-informed and fully researched advocacy campaign. I would do this to avoid the occurrence of a potential ethical dilemma of misuse of people’s personal information in studies other than the intended one. Ethical dilemma occurs when collected information is used for other purposes without the consent of the people from whom the information is coming. This act may or may not reveal to the original sources of information (the people) but once they get revealed, problems can occur for the publisher as the original sources may sue the publisher for misuse of information. For example, if I use the information about drinking habits of any specific research participant for some other purpose about which that person is unaware, it would be a huge ethical misconduct by me because I had not told the research participant about it. Therefore, I would attach a form signed by me with every survey form which will ensure the research participants that I would not make any illegal use of the information. Ethical Laws and Reporting Requirements There are always some ethical laws and reporting requirements applicable to any advocacy campaign. I would follow all reporting laws not only to save the interests of the public supporting my cause but also to ensure that all of my advocacy efforts do not face any sort of criticism. The ethical laws that I would follow will be based on the Public Ethics Law Title 5, which ensure that all public decisions are made impartially and there is not improper influence on the acts of the public offices (Maryland State Ethics Commission, 2015). As far as the reporting requirements are concerned, I would take every measure to keep the collected information private. Moreover, I would also use the information without the original names of the people while preparing the report to be handed over to the concerned government authorities. My focus would be solely on the public health issue being addressed, therefore, I would never bring any aspect of discrimination in my reporting. Special Ethical Challenges Some special challenges that are unique to the population being addressed include knowing the drinking frequency of the research participants, making the participants reveal their personal information, advocating for a decrease in the BAL percentage, advocating for an increase in the minimum drinking age, and insisting them for joining me to support the cause. I think all of these challenges are really hard because they directly target the daily life habits of my targeted population. However, I would use my leadership skills and interpersonal communication skills to make the population stand by my side for this public health issue. Summary/Conclusion The purpose of this paper was to come up with an advocacy campaign for a public health issue. This was accomplished by discussing drunk driving as a critical public health issue that needs a proper health advocacy campaign. Drunk driving is highly dangerous because it increases the risk of roadside accidents. A large number of people die or get injured everyday in the United States because of impaired driving (CDCP, 2015). Various programs have been started by not-for-profit organizations to prevent people from driving when intoxicated. Two of such programs include Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drunk Driving. Although such programs and government interventions have been successful in reducing the graph of impaired driving based accidents, more efforts need to been taken to significantly decrease the casualty graph. Nurses also hold the responsibility to step forward and create awareness for the cause of decreasing impaired driving based accidents. Nurses have a big responsibility to maintain ethical standards while advocating for any public health issue (Fowler & American Nurses Association, 2008; American Nurses Association, 2010). The policy proposed in the paper for this public health issue involves three main steps which include creating awareness among public, giving a direct imprisonment sentence for the people driving when drunk, and extending the legal age of drinking to 23 years. In this advocacy campaign, some challenges and ethical concerns would also appear that would need to be addressed properly in order for the campaign to be widely successful and accepted. References AlcoholAlert. (2015). Students Against Drunk Driving are still SADD. Retrieved from http://www.alcoholalert.com/students-against-drunk-driving.html American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursings social policy statement: The essence of the profession. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Impaired Driving: Get the Facts. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html Center for Organizational Research and Education. (2015). Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Retrieved from https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/17-mothers-against-drunk-driving/ Davis-Alldritt, L. (2011). Presidential Inaugural Address: Advocacy, Access, and Achievement. The Journal of School Nursing, 27(4), 249-251. Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. (2015). Drunk Driving Statistics. Retrieved from http://responsibility.org/drunk-driving/drunk-driving-statistics Fowler, M. D., & American Nurses Association. (2008). Guide to the code of ethics for nurses: Interpretation and application. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association. Hamilton, W. (2000). Mothers Against Drunk Driving—MADD in the USA. Injury Prevention, 6(2), 90-91. Hanson, D. (n.d.). Driving. Retrieved from http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/drinkinganddriving.html#.VL-Wubf9m1s Hurley, C. (2014). A better path to progress on drunk driving. Addiction, 109(6), 877-878. Klitzner, M., Gruenewald, P., Bamberger, E., & Rossiter, C. (1994). A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of Students Against Driving Drunk. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 20(1), 57-74. Maryland State Ethics Commission. (2015). Welcome to the Maryland State Ethics Commission. Retrieved from http://ethics.gov.state.md.us/Pages/Home.htm Read More