Health Policy Report: Analysis of Opioid Crisis and Global Strategies

This report analyzes the global health policy response to the opioid crisis, focusing on the initiatives of the UNODC and other international organizations. It examines strategies aimed at tackling the opioid crisis through a multidisciplinary approach, including addressing supply, supporting access for scientific purposes, and preventing misuse. The report highlights the involvement of various stakeholders, such as government agencies, healthcare organizations, and nurses, emphasizing the critical role of nurses in implementing and understanding these policies. It also discusses the inconsistencies in current opioid policies and the need for improved utilization of multidisciplinary teams to ensure evidence-based practices and better patient outcomes. The report references key publications, including those from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and research on opioid use and nursing perspectives.

Running head: HEALTH POLICY 1
Health Policy
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Health Policy
The UNODC has been at the pole position in fighting the global opioid crisis by
initiating strategies in light of protecting public health. Precisely, an organization-wide strategy
has recently been initiated by UNODC to help countries across the globe tackle opioid crisis
through a multidisciplinary and integrated initiative that tackles opioid supply, supports access of
opioid for scientific purposes, and prevent diversion and misuse of related drugs. Given the
prevalence of the crisis at the global level as evidenced by increasing rates of opioid-related
fatalities, the policy has solemnly been solicited by international organizations such as UNODC
and INCB. In this light, other global projects have likewise been initiated to counter the public
health threat posed by the drugs (INCB, 2018).
Government agencies, healthcare organizations and communities have all been engaged
in support of such programs. These stakeholders have all been focused on prevention, harm
reduction, enforcement and treatment. The stakeholders for championing the policy at the
international landscape are nurses. As frontline providers, nurses ought to fully embrace
the stipulated guidelines under the policy. Likewise, they need to be knowledgeable and keep
abreast of the associated implications with prescribing and administering opioids (Wakeland,
Nielsen & Geissert, 2015). Interdisciplinary teams comprising of nurse practitioners, bedside
nurses and other practitioners such as physicians and their assistant also should be involved in
establishing a strong understanding of inopportune usage and misapplication of opioid
analgesia.
Current review and examination of existing opioid policies however reveal that there are
considerable inconsistencies with the policy’s regulations and guidelines with most provisions

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conflicting at the state and federal level. Issues regarding the lack of utilization of multi-
disciplinary teams have also created imbalances in systems resulting in less-oversight and
abandoning evidence-based practices on cautionary use of multimodal analgesic comprising of
opiates and non-opioid analgesia (Jukiewicz et al., 2017).

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References
International Narcotics Control Boards (INCB). (2018). INCB Countering the Opioids Crisis
through its Global Projects. Retrieved from
https://www.incb.org/incb/en/news/news_2018/incb-countering-the-opioids-crisis-
through-its-global-projects.html
Jukiewicz, D. A., Alhofaian, A., Thompson, Z., & Gary, F. A. (2017). Reviewing Opioid Use,
Monitoring, and Legislature: Nursing Perspectives. International Journal of Nursing
Sciences, 4(4), 430-436. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352013217300571
Wakeland, W., Nielsen, A., & Geissert, P. (2015). Dynamic Model of Nonmedical Opioid Use
Trajectories and Potential Policy Interventions. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol
Abuse, 41(6), 508-518. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4685710/