HEROIN USE IN AMERICA: INDENTIFICATION, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Course overview

The purpose of this course is to familiarize professionals with basic information concerning heroin addiction, which has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and around the globe. This includes facts about heroin and addiction, effects on the brain, progression of the disease, psychological and physical effects of short-term and chronic use, screening, treatment, and prevention. The course covers background information and statistics on the escalation of heroin addiction in the United States from 1850 to 2014 including causative factors. The review includes evidence-based treatment and prevention programs, as well as the current trends in progress to advance prevention and treatment of the disease. Upon completion of this course, the student will master the following objectives: 1.Discuss the composition and properties of three types of heroin. 2.Compare and contrast the effects of heroin on the brain based on the mode of transmission Define terms relevant to heroin use 3.Describe today¿s heroin epidemic 4.Describe the etiology of heroin addiction 5.Describe the signs and symptoms of heroin use 6.Explain the differences between the psychological and physical effects of short-term and chronic heroin use. 7.Discuss immediate and long-term treatment methods including three evidence-based therapies to treat heroin use. 8.Highlight special nursing considerations when caring for patients who are or who are at risk for becoming addicted to heroin. It is the responsibility of all health care professional to advocate for their clients and promote access to health care for everyone. The disease of heroin addiction impacts all ages in all communities, so health professionals today must work to bring heroin addiction out of the shadows. They must educate others to remove the stigma and address heroin addiction as a brain disease that can affect anyone. As with many diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, heroin addiction causes fear and is widely misunderstood in the community. Scientists and researchers are collaborating on better screening, treatment, and prevention techniques, health professionals and the general public should be educated about what they can do in their daily lives to prevent heroin addiction from spreading. This course points to the need for a multiple disciplinary approach that must start early in life to address the complex factors that lead to at-risk behaviors that may lead to drug experimentation. Environmental, social, genetic, physical, and mental health factors that contribute to addiction have been identified and are critical in developing effective treatment and prevention programs. Addressing these factors among youth at an early age may be the only way to control the epidemic, while law enforcement tries to eradicate the source of the drug from Mexico, South America, and Asia.