Opioid Overdose Crisis | Assignment

Running head: OPIOID OVERDOSE CRISIS 1
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OPIOID OVERDOSE CRISIS 2
Opioid Overdose Crisis
The crisis related to opioid overdose has become an issue in the U.S because it is a health
situation with devastating repercussions. Significantly, the increasing cases of overdose and
misuse have intensified the pregnancy issues like neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition that
has been linked to opioid overdose and abuse (Webster et al., 2017). There are also some other
infections like HIV and Hepatitis C, which have been related to opioid use, especially during
injections to administer the drug. Notably, science has always been considered as the best
approach to manage this kind of crisis according to the history of medicine (Pergolizzi et al.,
2017).
The department in the USA dealing with health and human services should take steps to
counter this issue of opioid overdose and misuse. For instance, they should find better ways for
addicts to access treatment and recovery services. Also, health providers should take the
initiative of providing the affected individuals with overdose-reversing drugs as they strengthen
people’s understanding of the issue through proper channels like public health surveillance
(Webster et al., 2017). Government institutions, together with the healthcare providers, should
come up with better ways to manage pain to avoid the use of opioids in the society.
Additionally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been at the forefront of finding ways
to prevent the misuse of opioids, the treatment options, and how to manage pain. The institution
should devise a way to manage chronic pain by incorporating safe, non-addictive, and practical
approaches (Webster et al., 2017). There have a mandate to develop novel medications and
technology to treat the disorders related to opioids. Lastly, there should be a sophisticated