Critical Evaluation of a Public Health Problem

Running head: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM
CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

Running Head: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM1
Table of Contents
Answer 1:...................................................................................................................................2
Benefits and downsides of the screening program:................................................................2
Answer 2:...................................................................................................................................4
Accuracy of the test:...............................................................................................................4
Answer 3:...................................................................................................................................5
(a) Interpretation of the results of a related company...........................................................5
(b) Calculation of positive and negative predictive values for the screening program:.........6
(c) Recommendation as a monthly screening test:.................................................................7
References:.................................................................................................................................9

Running Head: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM2
Answer 1:
Benefits and downsides of the screening program:
Drug and alcohol screening programs are used to test whether the people concerned in
the test program are dependent on the above two chemicals or not. Various organizations
perform these tests to test their workers for the presence of alcohol or drug intake. Every
other nation, including Australia, has several nationwide drug and alcohol screening
programs which include many subprograms. These subparts provide employee assistance
programs, random tests and counselling, evaluation and training (Weaver, Hopper &
Gunderson, 2015). This part of the report will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
the screening program. As a health advisor, the benefits and downsides of the screening
processes will be provided to the CEO of an associated organization.
The first benefit of alcohol and drug screening tests is to prevent drug abuse in a
particular workplace. Drug abuse in people makes them addicted to the drug material, which
deteriorates their working efficacy. The specific test used to test the presence of the drug in
the worker's body is performed by urine tests. This test involves taking a sample of urine
from all the workers and adding ester to the urine sample to find a fruity smell (confirmation
test for alcohol and drugs) (LaRue et al., 2019). The second benefit of alcohol and drug
screening tests is the avoidance of dangerous situations such as accidents, theft and turnover
of the employee, which deteriorates the reputation of the organization. The prevention of
these situations ensures a safer workplace for both clients and employees (Lendoiro et al.,
2018). Guaranteeing the same will also reduce the cost spend by the CEO for the workers
meeting accidents. The specific test used to ensure the efficacy of the second benefit is
counselling of the people found positive for the drug. The third benefit of this screening test
is the assured increase in employee performance, morale and productivity (Richmond et al.,

Running Head: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM3
2017). This is one of the best advantage of the drug screening procedure for the organization.
The higher the morale of an employee is, the higher will be his productivity and performance.
The first downside of drug and alcohol screening at the workplace is that the
employees can see the testing procedure as a violation of their privacy (Watson et al., 2015).
This is because, for the testing process, this program is using the employee's urine sample.
This screening procedure may not be acceptable to all the employees. The program is taking
accurate note of the daily activities of the workers on a regular basis. Some of the the workers
may not accept this procedure as human minds differ from one person to another. The second
downside of this program is the termination of any employee who has been found to be
dependent on drugs, after the screening test was performed. Every employee who is exposed
to drugs does not have bad overall performance and productivity. He or she can be a good
performer with good productivity even after being exposed to drugs. This condition leads to
the termination of good employees from the working place. The third downside of this
program is the wrong interpretation of the workers due to random tests (Etikan, Musa &
Alkassim, 2016). Random tests not only involve analyzing random employees but also at
random time intervals. Alcohol exposure can be misinterpreted by these random tests. This is
because of the fact that alcohol is also excreted through urine during a gastrointestinal
disorder condition (Ptesterl et al., 2019). The alcohol excreted is synthesized by the
individual’s body and is not due to a reason of an alcohol exposure. Therefore, the physical
wellbeing of the person needs to be tested before the screening analysis is performed. On
summary, it can be said that this alcohol and drug screening program has both advantages and
disadvantages which puts an impact on the results.