Occupational Health Management Plan for Injectable Drug Users

This management plan discusses the risks and hazards associated with drug abuse among Injectable Drug Users in a university setting. The Needle Exchange Program is proposed as a solution to reduce the spread of blood-borne infections like Hepatitis and HIV. Legal and ethical considerations are also discussed.

RUNNING HEAD: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT 1
Occupational Health Management
Name:
Institution:
Tutor:
Date:

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT 2
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLAN
INTRODUCTION
Drug and substance abuse is one of the leading hazardous trend in the world. Substance
and drug abuse is basically the use of illegal drugs. Besides, it also refers to the use of alcohol,
medications in a manner not prescribed for. Substance and addiction are different in a way that
individuals with abuse problems can quit the habit but addiction on the other hand is a disease
which implies difficulty in ceasing of the said substance (Des Jarlais, Kerr, Carrieri, Feelemyer,
& Arasteh, 2016). Some of the most commonly abused drugs include alcohol, heroin, cocaine,
marijuana, as well as cigarettes. Some of the symptoms to substance abuse include changing
friends, eating more or less than normal, ceasing in taking care of oneself, sleeping at odd hours
as well having difficulty in interacting with family members. Drug and substance abuse is
rampant in institutions of higher learning due to the minimal supervision of the students as well
as peer influence.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKPLACE
The workplace in this case is a University where the freedom associated with students as
well as peer influence and minimal supervision force most of the students engage in the
Injectable Drug use. The workers of the institution are also prone to the hazard. The number and
gender in such an environment is not definitive but it is significant to be of concern.
RISKS OR HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH DRUG ABUSE
Drugs can cause severe damage to individuals who abuse them. Besides affecting
someone, they can as well affect the lives of people around those who use the drugs. It is due to
this harmful nature of drugs that they are classified as occupational hazards. The worst damage is

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done to those are totally addicted to the drugs. There are different phases of addiction: Tolerance,
psychological dependence, physical dependence and finally addiction. Tolerance refers to the
ability to need more of the drug to achieve the desired effect (Lazarus et al., 2018).
Psychological dependence on the other hand refers to the inability to function properly when not
under the influence of the drug you are used to. Physical dependence refers to the state of the
body going through very strong withdrawal symptoms when one ceases using the particular drug.
Such symptoms include seizures, vomiting and shaking. Drugs that can subject one to
withdrawal symptoms include alcohol, heroin as benzodiazepines.
Losing health is one of the biggest risk associated with use of drugs. According to
research, drug addiction is known to cause the following health problems: A rapid heart rate that
is brought about by addiction to cocaine, marijuana as well as meth. Heart failure is also another
health issue that is brought about as a result of excessive use of cocaine and meth (Philbin &
FuJie, 2014). Drug use can also result to blood borne infections due to sharing injectable devices
like needles. Such infections include hepatitis and HIV. High blood pressure also result from the
use of cocaine and meth. Other health effects of drugs include impotency and infertility, loss of
learning and memory issues particularly brought about by marijuana and damages to the liver as
a result of marijuana as well(Sherman et al., 2015). Psychosis, respiratory depression as well as
coma and seizures are also serious health problems associated with the use of drugs.
The related risk exposure in this case is as a result of the materials used. The materials
used in this case are needles that can cause spread of blood borne infections like Hepatitis and
HIV.

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CURRENT MANAGEMENT MEASURES
At the moment there are different management measures to curb the effects or harm
associated with Injectable drug users. One such measure include rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is
the attempts to convert addicts back to their normal status through civic education and engaging
them in other activities (Platt et al., 2016). This is not an effective measure since from the
statistics by the World Health Organizations, there has been no significant improvement in the
transmission of the blood borne infections like HIV and diabetes. Another measure has been the
crackdown on the drug users by different governments where drug users are arrested and
persecuted (Nazari et al., 2016). This is in fact the worst move by the governments as the drug
users go in hideouts and still manage to share the needles. Another measure is through education
forums in the community where drug users are educated on how to fight addiction. This is a very
expensive measure and since the society has a negative perception on drug addicts, rarely do they
come out to attend the sessions ("Needle Exchange Programs' Status in US Politics," 2016).
Besides, all this measures are very expensive and that is why the need for the Needle Exchange
program. Another current measure has been the treatment of drug dependency just like other
chronic conditions like Diabetes and In.This measure however is ineffective since it absolves
drug users of their responsibilities to their situation.
NEED FOR CHANGE
Since the current measures have had no significant improvement in terms of reducing
transmission of blood borne infections among the Injectable Drug Users, there is need for change
and try out this new management plan of the Needle Exchange Program since it has already
shown signs of improvement among those States that have implemented the plan.

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LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
Being in possession of any needle without the prescription was a crime in most states.
This could therefore lead to the arrest of many people as they leave the private needle exchange
facility. However, after the epidemiological findings indicated that the Needle Exchange
program was full of promise, many governments did opt out of the arrests (Fernandes et al.,
2017). The trend has been convincing since as of 2006, 48 states have so far authorized the
Needle Exchange Programs. As of 2012 at least 35 states had legalized possession of needles
while other countries did exempt beneficiaries of the Needle Exchange Program from arrests.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
This management involves a lot of ethical considerations. Since drugs are harmful in
nature, it is expected from the society that healthcare professions should be in the fore front to
fight against the vice. However, in this case, it is the healthcare profession who is supplying
needles to addicts so that they can go on with the same vice. This is unethical from the society
perspective. From the healthcare profession on the other side, it is ethical since it is reducing the
chances of blood borne infections like hepatitis and HIV.
THE MANAGEMENT PLAN
Since the drug and substance abuse menace is here to stay, the only solution is to work on
how to limit the effects. The best management plan in this case is the Needle Exchange program
whose objective is to reduce the spread of blood borne infections like Hepatitis and HIV.

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THE NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM
The needle exchange program is a form of social service whereby drug users are allowed
to get needles and other injection paraphernalia at little or no cost at all. It is based on the
principle of reducing the overall effect of drugs by cutting down the risk factors of blood borne
infections like Hepatitis and HIV (Strathdee & Beyrer, 2015). However, the same program
dictates that for one to get new needles, they have to return an equal number of the used needles.
According to reports by the World Health Organization back in 2004, The Needle
Exchange programs have effectively reduced the spread of HIV at a very low cost especially
among the Injectable Drug Users (Des Jarlais et al., 2015). The findings from the World Health
Organization did intermarry with those of the American Medical Association which in 2000, was
of the same idea of the Needle Exchange Program coupled with addiction counselling.
HARM REDUCTION
For effective harm among the Injectable Drug Users, there has to be an assumption that it
is not actually sense for individuals to make healthy decisions. According to several advocates,
individuals who find themselves trapped within the unruly behaviors of drug and substance
abuse find it hard to break away from such and as a result, they should be given a chance to go
on with the exercise but the harm should be minimized in a manner less harmful.
The Needle Exchange Program basically are in support of the health and the well-being
of drug addicts by creating awareness, educating them and empowering them. Besides providing
sterile needles to the Injectable Drug Users, the Needle Exchange program provides additional
services like Hepatitis and HIV testing (Bramson et al., 2015). The program also provides cotton
swabs that the IDUs use to sterile their place of injections to avoid other bacterial infections

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(Wilson, Donald, Shattock, Wilson, & Fraser-Hurt, 2015). Other items provided include bleach
water as well as normal saline and the citric acid powder which assists heroin to dissolve in
water (Smith et al., 2016). According to a survey that was carried out by the Beth Israel Medical
Center that is located in New York, 77% of the Needle Exchange Program did provide material
abuse therapy while 72% did offer guidance and counselling services as well as HIV testing
services (Gyarmathy et al., 2016). The survey also established that more than two thirds did
provide supplies like bleach, alcohol pads as well as the male and the female condoms.
Another advantage of the Needle Exchange Program is that it offers a conducive way in
which used needles and syringes can be disposed. Initially, the IDUs dispose the used material
into the environment like rivers which has potential of infecting other people (Barocas, Linas,
Kim, Fangman, & Westergaard, 2016). With these program however, the used needles are
returned back to the suppliers who understand proper protocol on how to get rid of the harmful
materials.
THE DESIRED OUTCOMES AND GOALS
Since this is a management plan, the objective is to reduce the chances of blood borne
infections spreading from one Injectable drug user to the next. We realize that of all the risks
associated with drug and substance abuse, blood borne infections are by far the most severe
compared to others like seizures, vomiting which can easily be corrected(Luo et al., 2014). The
overall goal of this management plan therefore is not to reduce drug abuse since it is a very
cumbersome exercise rather to reduce on the harm associated with the abuse.

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ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BE PUT IN PLACE TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN
To effectively implement this management plan, several activities will have to be put in
place. One such activity is first identifying the injectable drug users. This can be achieved
through reaching out to the community and seeking the affected individuals. After the Injectable
Drug Users have been identified, they have to be educated on the importance of the Needle
Exchange Program. Education can take the form of demonstrations.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
To effectively monitor this program, syringes or rather new needles will have to be
labelled to find out if indeed the Injectable drug users are returning the used ones or they are just
picking some old syringes along the road and getting them back for new ones. With Evaluation,
this one involves conducting CD4 counts in those addicts who are already positive for the HIV
virus. In case the viral load goes up, then this simply means that the plan is not working
efficiently. Evaluation can as well be done through frequent HIV tests at the facility. If the
incidences of the condition are relatively low, then this implies that the plan is successful.
CONCLUSION
Drug and substance is one of the leading and commonly found occupational Hazard
though ignored by many healthcare professional. Drugs like cigarettes are in circulation and this
affects both the drug users and not since smokes moves by air. Other drugs are introduced to
the body by the use of needles. The use of needles by injectable drug users possess a serious
issue since sharing needles increase the risk of blood-borne infections like hepatitis and HIV.
The debacle of encouraging individual or rather addicts to quit the habit has on several moments
hit a snag since the affected individuals often suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as seizures,

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vomiting and headaches. The best alternative therefore is to reduce the impact or rather the harm
among the Injectable Drug users. This can be achieved through setting up what we call Needle
Exchange Program. This is a social service where IDUs are provided with same number of new
syringes once they hand over the used ones. This program is however faced with the legal and
ethical challenges like arrest if found in possession of prescribed syringes in some countries. The
ethical part of the program is that it is not ethical at all to give allowance or room for an
individual to be exposed to drugs since we all know the harmful nature of the drugs. Going by
statistics however, the Needle Exchange Program has already shown significant signs of
reducing harm among injectable drug users and should soldier on.

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References
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Acceptability of Rapid Point-of-Care Hepatitis C Tests Among People Who Inject
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Bramson, H., Des Jarlais, D. C., Arasteh, K., Nugent, A., Guardino, V., Feelemyer, J., &
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