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Opioid Drug Overdose

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The prevalence of opioid drug-related overdose has risen progressively over the past two decades becoming one of the leading causes of death in the United States. According to Center for Disease Control, drug overdoses accounted for 52,404 U.S. deaths, including 33,091 (63.1%) that involved an opioid in 2015 (Rudd, Seth, David & Scholl, 2016). To date, the numbers are continuously snowballing and it has been a major factor in the burgeoning costs of healthcare in the United States. In fact, the economic burden of opioid abuse cost the nation a staggering amount of $78.5 billion a year, taking into account the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and even goes beyond issue of criminal justice (Florence, Zhou, Luo & …show more content…

A collaborative partnerships with community organizations also working on the opioid crisis will help reach to a bigger audience. It will help raise awareness and disseminate information about the perils of prescription pain killers through various forms of communication from the traditional to the novel platforms in social media. by approaching prevention and education efforts with the same urgency and determination with which we work to reverse overdoses and arrest drug traffickers, we can begin to create the cultural transformation needed to free our communities from the grip of the opioid …show more content…

Not to mention those individuals who are marked with the disgraceful stigma of the disease that they too need to feel supported, encouraged and motivated to step on the path to seek treatment for their addiction.

References:

Rudd, R.A., Seth, P., David F., & Scholl L. (2016). Increases in drug and opioid-involved overdose death – united states, 2010-2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 65, 1445–1452. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm655051e1

Florence CS, Zhou C, Luo F, Xu L. (2016). The economic burden of prescription opioid overdose, abuse, and dependence disease to feel supported, encouraged and motivated to step on the path to seek treatment for their addiction. Med Care. 54(10):901-906.

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