Addressing Substance Abuse In Rural Communities: A Nurse’s Perspective

Key Health Messages For Substance Abuse In Rural Communities

According to the World Health Organization, substance abuse can be defined as the hazardous consumption of alcohol and drugs that fall under the category of psychoactive substances (World Health Organization, 2014). As stated by Galanter et al. (2014), psychoactive substances can potentially lead to dependence syndrome. Dependence syndrome can be explained as a combination of behavioral, cognitive and psychological phenomenon that leads to the development of a strong desire or addiction to consume drugs (Pullen & Oser, 2014). Individuals engaging in substance abuse experience difficulties in exercising control over self and prioritize the drug use over other obligations. According to a report, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, it has been mentioned that there is a strong connection between substance abuse and mental wellness (Galanter et al., 2014). Increased dependence on substance abuse can invariably affect changes in perception, thought-process, mood and behavior. It should further be mentioned in this regard that substance abuse not only affects the physical wellbeing of the individuals engaging in it but also severely affects the immediate family and social circle of the individual. Addressing Substance Abuse In Rural Communities Discussion paper Research studies have invariably talked about a strong connection between substance abuse and domestic violence which diminishes the standard of life of the family members of the addicts (Connors et al., 2013). This assignment would majorly discuss the awareness strategies in relation to substance abuse within the rural community as mentioned in the case study. It would further talk about the support services that are available within Victoria and devise recommendation strategies so as to reduce the prevalence of substance abuse among the men within the rural community.

Research studies have identified that the prevalence of substance abuse within rural and remote areas is primarily on account of lack of awareness about the negative implication of substance abuse on the health of people. Sarah’s primary objective in this case would be to spread awareness about the negative impact of substance abuse on the physical and mental health of the people. The three key messages that she would focus on with respect to the problem within the community awareness campaign would comprise of the following: Substance abuse can potentially lead to the development of disease, disability or chronic medical condition which would lead to an increase in medical expenditure. Substance abuse and mental illness are interconnected to one another and often co-exist. Increased dependence on substance abuse could lead to behavioral disorder which could negatively affect the social circle of the individual engaging in substance abuse

Support Services For Substance Abuse In Victoria

The key messages would be imparted to the community members with a supporting rationale so as to convince them to overcome the addictive behavior and adapt a healthy lifestyle. The most commonly misused substances within the remote and rural communities of Australia include alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs and prescription medications (MSI, 2013). Uninterrupted use of the mentioned drugs leads to the development of addiction, which can be defined as a condition that impairs the normal functioning of the physical as well as the mental health (Stuart et al., 2013). It is important to note in this context that increased dependence on substance abuse and addiction not only affects the individual engaging in it but also the family and the immediate community associated with the individual. Therefore, in this context, it should be mentioned that the first key message would be covered with the discussion on the harmful effect of substance abuse on the vital organs of the body. Overconsumption of alcohol or smoking could lead to abnormal weight loss or sudden weight gain and fluctuate the normal blood pressure range of the human body. Also, excessive alcohol consumption could lead to liver Cirrhosis. Further, smoking cigarettes could lead to lung cancer, mouth cancer or even gastric ulcer. Long term effects of alcohol consumption include, distorted vision and hearing impairment. On the other hand, long term smoking could lead to infertility (Martinotti et al., 2015). Moreover, any form of substance abuse could damage the normal functioning of the brain as well as the nervous system and affect the vital organs of the body that include the heart, lungs and the liver (Bolin et al., 2015). Therefore, giving up substance abuse can reasonably add healthy and happier years to the life and at the same time also help in the prevention of medical cost expenditure for the treatment of the physical health problems.

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The second key message would be covered with the discussion on the impact of substance abuse on the mental health and wellness of the people. Research studies state that, substance abuse could lead to the development of Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, Depressive disorder and anxiety disorders (MSI, 2013). In addition to this, it could also cause obsessive compulsive disorder, sleep-wake disorders, sexual dysfunctions and neuro-cognitive disorders (MSI, 2013). In layman terms, excessive alcohol consumption or drug use could elicit a sense of inferiority, loneliness and desire to escape from reality which eventually disrupts the mental peace and limits the normal socializing ability of the person. Therefore, quitting alcohol consumption, smoking or drugs can help us in maintaining a stable mental health and focus on the primary goals of life.

Technology As An Assistive Tool For Addressing Substance Abuse

The third key message would be covered with the discussion on substance abuse and behavioral problems. It should be mentioned here that, intoxication can completely transform an individual’s normal behavior into an unhealthy and destructive behavior, which is capable of causing serious harm to the people who stay in close association with the addict. Increased substance abuse can trigger attitude pertaining to domestic abuse which could seriously affect the marital relationship of an individual (Wang et al., 2013). Further, it could also lead to uncontrolled sexual behavior such as molestation or rape which are identified as criminal offence. Further domestic violence negatively impacts the upbringing of children in the family. Research studies have mentioned that children with an alcoholic parent often perform poorly in academics and a lower intelligent quotient against children with healthy parents (Bolin et al., 2015). Also, studies have also shown that immediate family members often fall victims to anxiety, stress and depression while caring for the individuals indulging in substance abuse becomes increasingly challenging (Stuartet al., 2013). Therefore, substance abuse behavior increases the probability of indulging in criminal offense and encountering interpersonal problems (Abuse & Administration, 2016). Therefore, accessing support programs against substance abuse can help in preventing problems related to alcohol and drugs.

A wide range of substance-abuse treatment services are available within the region of Victoria. Studies reveal that approximately 40,000 Victorian residents at present access services relate to substance abuse (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). The treatment services include both community based services as well as residential treatment services so as to provide help to the people who are in absolute need of it. It should be noted in this context, that the provision of treatment facility is looked after by a dedicated workforce who aim at delivering effective treatment through a channel of treatment streams. The treatment streams essentially operate through the domains of intake, counseling, withdrawal, rehabilitation and pharmacotherapy. The services are supported and finances by a local service provider in each region. The two important service strategies available within Victoria include the treatment services for aboriginal against alcohol and other drugs (owing to the significant proportion of aboriginals within the rural areas of Victoria) and the family and peer support for individuals with problematic alcohol use.

The Department of Health and Human Services exclusively works with the aboriginal community members in order to ensure complete access to alcohol and drug treatment services within the members of the aboriginal community. The specific aboriginal alcohol and drug treatment services is offered to the members of the aboriginal community who is either at a risk of being affected due to substance abuse or is already affected with the problem of substance-abuse. Further, it should also be noted that majority of the adult community based substance abuse treatment facilities prioritize care for the aboriginal community members. The Bunjilwarra Koori Youth Alcohol and Drug Healing Service is an initiative that functions state-wide in order to provide respite to the aboriginal people (Www2.health.vic.gov.au, 2019). Addressing Substance Abuse In Rural Communities Discussion paper The Aboriginal community controlled organizations and adult residential rehabilitation services are exclusively funded by the commonwealth government so as to render complete access to support and intervention programs. The program operates at several stages. The first includes the identification of the affected patients or the high risk patients who are exposed heavily to substance abuse. The specific services for the aboriginals controlled by the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organization also accepts direct referrals and self-referrals from other support services such as DirectLine and offers treatment interventions (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). The further stages include, administering counseling against drug abuse and enrolling into rehabilitation for complete withdrawal. A combination of pharmacotherapy along with counseling is used to ensure withdrawal.

Impact Of Substance Abuse On Physical And Mental Health

The family and peer support program emphasizes upon the fact that the family members can assist an accelerated recovery for the patients who have indulged in excessive alcohol-abuse. Most of the substance abuse treatment facilities work on the basis of a family-focused approach where they proactively involve the family members in the process of assessment, intervention planning and recovery (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). The agencies critically emphasize upon the needs of the dependent family members and prioritize upon reducing the damaging impact of substance abuse to them. A number of support services such as mental health counseling, family drug education and family drug support services are available to the family members of the client in order to deal with the challenges of domestic violence as a result of substance abuse. The Family Drug Help is an initiative of the Self Help Addiction Resource Centre that ensures provision of services in order to strengthen the physical and mental health of the family members of patients who have involved in substance abuse. The support services include family counseling and education about strategies to deal with challenging situations (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). The Family drug education program typically hosts workshops to educate the family members of the patients about the important signs and symptoms that predict dependence on substance abuse and also imparts information about the referrals and support options that are available for recovery.

Therefore, it can be said that substance abuse is a major problem within the remote and rural areas and has been deep-rooted for several years. Studies have interestingly shown that rural adults indulge heavily in significantly higher rate of tobacco use, alcohol use and other psychoactive drug use. The scenario becomes exceedingly worse to tackle within the rural communities due to lack of awareness about the negative implication of substance abuse on the physical and mental health of the people. Also, the restricted accessibility to support services and knowledge about prevention and recovery has led to the worsening of the scenario. The major factors that can be considered responsible for the increased dependence of substance abuse within the rural areas include poor educational background, poverty and unemployment. Substance abuse can lead to poor physical and mental health outcome and an increased ideation of committing antisocial activities. Therefore, it is extremely important to conduct awareness programs of high impact value in order to educate the community population about the risks involved with increased prevalence of substance abuse.

It should however be noted that the use of technology could help in conducting the awareness programs of high impact value. Complying with the following recommendation strategies would ensure a better outcome. The nurses could make use of technology-based educational tools such as power point presentation to demonstrate the negative implication of substance abuse on the physical and mental health of the people can help in creating an impact of a greater magnitude. This is because a combination of audio visual effect promotes better understanding of the subject. Further, nurses could also impart education about tele-health services and effectively implement the service application in order to offer support to the family members of the distressed individuals (Benavides et al., 2013). Nurses could make use of alcohol or drug tracker application on the smart phones to monitor the consumption of alcohol or other drug in individuals enrolled under a rehabilitation program. The use of internet based counseling services for patients and their immediate family members could also be used by the care professionals to offer assistance to the patients who do not prefer opting for group-based rehabilitation (Connors et al., 2014).

References:

Abuse, S., & Administration, M. H. S. (2016). 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Benavides-Vaello, S., Strode, A., & Sheeran, B. C. (2013). Using technology in the delivery of mental health and substance abuse treatment in rural communities: a review. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 40(1), 111-120.

Bolin, J. N., Bellamy, G. R., Ferdinand, A. O., Vuong, A. M., Kash, B. A., Schulze, A., & Helduser, J. W. (2015). Rural healthy people 2020: new decade, same challenges. The Journal of Rural Health, 31(3), 326-333.

Browne, T., Priester, M. A., Clone, S., Iachini, A., DeHart, D., & Hock, R. (2016). Barriers and facilitators to substance use treatment in the rural south: A qualitative study. The Journal of Rural Health, 32(1), 92-101.

Connors, G. J., DiClemente, C. C., Velasquez, M. M., & Donovan, D. M. (2013). Substance abuse treatment and the stages of change: Selecting and planning interventions. Guilford Press.

Galanter, M., Kleber, H. D., & Brady, K. (Eds.). (2014). The American Psychiatric Publishing textbook of substance abuse treatment. American Psychiatric Pub.

Health.vic.gov.au (2019). AOD treatment for Aboriginal people in Victoria. [online] Www2.health.vic.gov.au. Available at: https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/alcohol-and-drugs/aod-treatment-services/aod-treatment-services-for-aboriginal-people [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019].

Health.vic.gov.au (2019). Family and peer support in AOD treatment in Victoria. [online] Www2.health.vic.gov.au. Available at: https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/alcohol-and-drugs/aod-treatment-services/family-and-peer-support-aod-treatment [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019].

Martinotti, G., Lupi, M., Carlucci, L., Cinosi, E., Santacroce, R., Acciavatti, T., … & Di Giannantonio, M. (2015). Novel psychoactive substances: use and knowledge among adolescents and young adults in urban and rural areas. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 30(4), 295-301.

MSI, M. S. I. (2013). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Pullen, E., & Oser, C. (2014). Barriers to substance abuse treatment in rural and urban communities: Counselor perspectives. Substance use & misuse, 49(7), 891-901.

Stuart, G. L., Moore, T. M., Elkins, S. R., O’Farrell, T. J., Temple, J. R., Ramsey, S. E., & Shorey, R. C. (2013). The temporal association between substance use and intimate partner violence among women arrested for domestic violence. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 81(4), 681.

Wang, K. H., Becker, W. C., & Fiellin, D. A. (2013). Prevalence and correlates for nonmedical use of prescription opioids among urban and rural residents. Drug and alcohol dependence, 127(1), 156-162.

World Health Organization, & World Health Organization. Management of Substance Abuse Unit. (2014). Global status report on alcohol and health, 2014. World Health Organization.  Addressing Substance Abuse In Rural Communities Discussion paper