The US Department of Health and Human Services notes that opioids are the leading substance class in overdose-related deaths, with 3 out of every 5 overdoses being caused by opioids (2018). Substances classified as opioids are Morphine derivatives; and include Heroin and several popular prescription pain medications (like Codeine drugs, Percocet, and Hydrocodone). Opioid addiction can result from both legal/appropriate and illegal/inappropriate use. It is my hypothesis that the opioid crisis in America today is more centered around prescription pain medication than Heroin use. I believe that research would find that there is a far higher prevalence of prescription opioid addiction (including both legal and illegal use) in the American population today. Research Methodologies Qualitative Research Qualitative research regarding this issue would result in potential clarification of certain factors that affect this issue, and can provide basis for further qualitative research questions.
How Addiction occurs. It is apparent that not all individuals that receive opioid pain medications become addicted. Understanding what occurs that translates appropriate acute usage into addiction is critical to understanding why prescription opioid use is such a major part of this addiction crisis. In order to determine this causation, it may be beneficial to interview both prescribers and substance abuse professionals to learn the reasons behind this ‘transformation‘. These types of professionals are able to identify when appropriate use and behavior becomes instead ‘drug seeking behavior‘, one key indicator of addiction.” While this is different for each individual and cannot be determined by a set timeframe protocol, this information could be used to identify a general idea of when acute use stops being short-term and is at risk to become a habit.
Another key factor that prescribers and substance abuse professionals could offer clarification on is how physical pain and emotional pain contribute to opioid use. Emotion pain, depression, and stress can result in a phenomenon known as psychosomatic pain. In this situation, the complainant describes feeling pain that has no actual physical cause, as it is caused by an underlying mental health issue. The utilization of opioid pain medication to treat this type of pain often results in addiction as the complainant believes that they are the only cure for pain relief, when in actuality itjust perpetuates the issue as the root cause is never resolved. By understanding how this type of opioid usage contributes to the levels of addiction in the US, we can develop ways to track the rates of addiction in this particular subgroup, Prescription Opioids v. Heroin and Other Opioids. A key part of testing the hypothesis is showing that prescription opioids are used more prevalently than other types of opioid drugs. In order to determine this, understanding why and how that occurs is critical, Interviewing both legal users and recreational users as to the process of obtaining prescription opioids can offer insight into this concern.
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Additionally, determining and comparing how difficult the process of obtaining a legitimate prescription, illegal prescription opioids, and other opioid substances (such as heroin) would be equally as beneficial in building a case for causation of a higher prevalence of prescription opioid use. Efficacy of Treatment. For most health concerns in modern times, there is designated remedy. For addiction, that remedy includes a very involved recovery treatment. Different strategies are appropriate for different substance abuse issues, and have varying success rates. In speaking with health care and substance abuse professionals, we can learn more about what types of treatment are effective, as well as what types of treatment are recommended for different types of opioids. As we are considering opioid use to be at crisis level, this will help us better understand why the problem continues instead of being as easily remedied as other population health concerns.
Quantitative Research Generally, there are a wide range of quantitative strategies that may render results asserting this hypothesis. These strategies include polls, questionnaires, and surveys aimed at producing measurable results, as well as the utilization of pre-existing statistical data How Addiction Occurs, we can illustrate how addiction occurs is by polling prescribers as to how many patients are prescribed opioid painkillers for acute issues, and how many of those patients develop the need for long-term pain management this statistic would show a general rate of addiction. Additionally, polling prescribers as to how frequently they screen for misuse or drug seeking behavior would provide tangible data regarding rates of addiction in those receiving legal prescription opioids. Other factors that we could investigate include procuring pre-existing statics regarding the use of Narcan for opioid overdoses.
In most states, healthcare professionals administering Narcan are required to note what type of drug was being used to cause the overdosei This information could show how frequently each category of opioid is involved in an overdose; which, in turn would produce a statistic regarding the frequency of excessive use of each category of drug. This statistic could be used to support or refute the stated hypothesis Prescription Opioids v. Heroin and other Opioid Drugs. From our qualitative research, we may have uncovered several reasons as to why one type of opioid use is more prevalent, Qualitative research regarding this could show supporting numerical data in regard to the number of people using each type of drug, as well as numerical data points regarding the rates of causation for choosing a specific type of opioid For example, this may show how many believe prescription opioids are easier or cheaper to obtain. Other polls or investigation of pre-existing statistics regarding how many people are currently utilizing prescription opioids in comparison to Herein and other opioids could also help determine the validity of our hypothesis.
This type of numerical data would either give strong credibility to our hypothesis, or provide strong evidence against it, Efficacy of Treatment. Another part of our qualitative research that offers opportunity to gather quantitative research is in regard to the efficacy of drug treatment in the US, As we consider opioid addiction in America to be a crisis, showing that treatment is not a simple solution would give credibility to the assumption that it is in fact a crisis, A more in depth understanding of how many people who are prescription opioid users (both legal and illegal use) in comparison to Heroin and other opioids actively are engaged in rehab programs, as well as how many users in both categories require multiple rounds of drug rehabilitation would aid in determining a statistical analysis of the efficacy of treatment, and provide a quantitative measure of how often relapse occurs in each category This data could aid in showing which group is less likely to be successful with rehabilitation.
There is no disputing the fact that there is a significant problem in American society that revolves around opioid use and addiction. There is also no disputing the fact that this crisis requires equally significant attention to be rectified, I believe that in order to better understand the issue that America faces, we must understand what the central concern and cause of this crisis are. My hypothesis is that prescription opioids are at the center of the opioid crisis today, and that addiction to and use of these substances is far more prevalent than that of Heroin or other opioid drugs. Through the utilization of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, I believe that this hypothesis would not only be validated, but that we would also gain a better understanding of how and why this had occurred.
