Engaging Social Media With Political Advocacy

For this week’s discussion, we will look to the Twitter feed and locate a Tweet that describes a new health care initiative or an issue you are passionate about or that speaks to you

The tweet I choose to address is as follows:

it’s International #OverdoseAwarenessDay (Links to an external site.)#Opioid (Links to an external site.) dependence is not a self-acquired bad habit but a complex #MentalHealth (Links to an external site.) condition.

Explore this initiative in detail and share your thoughts on the plan.

When I reviewed the activities scheduled in Ohio for the 2021 Overdose Awareness Day, there was a strong statement from Cuyahoga County where I reside- silence. Ohio has reported yearly increases in fatal opioid overdose mortality rates, as well as fatal fentanyl overdose rates, in the last seven consecutive years (Hall et al., 2020). Although the hot spot for addiction remains in our areas of Appalachia, Cuyahoga County continues to struggle with addiction and unintentional overdoses.

Discuss your thoughts about the Tweet and whether you can support the initiative or not. Be sure to use evidence in support of your position. As an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with a psychiatric specialty, I treat individuals with dually diagnosed substance use disorders and mental illness. There are several underlying predispositions that are shared, such as childhood trauma, stressors of social determinants of health, changes to brain composition, and genetic vulnerabilities. As a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) leader, it will be imperative that I advocate for treatment and community programs that support recovery and sustained remission. People who inject drugs are at increased risk of overdose, and more importantly, for fatal overdose. When examined as a separate population, overdose is identified as the leading cause of mortality in the United States. The use of naloxone, and the improved opportunity for immediate access, is the most effective and impactful intervention to reduce the death rate (Buresh et al., 2020). I support the initiative, to bring awareness to prevention, treatment, and recovery. I am not 100% behind the tweet, because I feel it is a bit misleading that all people who have opioid dependence have a mental illness, and that is inaccurate.

Within the political climate of government today, does this initiative have any hope of moving forward? Share your position based on the evidence.

I believe the initiative does have the ability to move forward, due to the stress that addiction places on our health care systems, our economic stability, our overwhelmed criminal justice system, and our already burdened social/community services systems (Moffit, 2020).

Compose a Tweet (no more than 140 characters) that adequately addresses your response to the original post and share this Tweet in the discussion

Accidental overdoses can and do happen, if you have #opioid dependence or addiction get free #naloxone today! #OpioidCrisis #NALOXONEsaveslives

REFERENCE

Buresh, M., Gicquelais, R., Astemborski, J., Kirk, G., Mehta, S., & Genberg, B. (2020). Fatal overdose prevention and experience with naloxone: A cross-sectional study from a community-based cohort of people who inject drugs in Baltimore, Maryland. PLoS ONE, 15(3), e0230127. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230127 (Links to an external site.)

Hall, T., Hall, E., McGrath, R., & Haile, Z. (2020). Years of life lost due to opioid overdose in Ohio: Temporal and geographic patterns of excess mortality. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 14(2), 156-162. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0000000000000554 (Links to an external site.)

Moffit, S.(2020). Introduction: The politics of the opioid epidemic. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 45(2), 171–175. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-8004838

I NEED A COMMENT FOR THIS DISCUSSION BOARD WITH AT LEAST 2 PARAGRAPHS AND USE 3 SOURCES NO LATER THAN 5 YEARS.

Engaging Social Media With Political Advocacy