Public Health Nursing: Examining Heroin Crisis in Rural California

This essay examines the heroin crisis in California's rural north, focusing on the intersection of opioid use, homelessness, and public health. It references a New York Times article detailing the epidemic and incorporates research on the impact of injectable drugs on mental health among homeless populations. The essay highlights the challenges faced by homeless individuals, including the use of meth for survival and the increased risk of heroin addiction due to lack of resources and support. It emphasizes the need for federal government agencies to expand social support programs for the homeless to address the root causes of addiction and improve public health outcomes, citing relevant studies and guidelines from organizations like the CDC.

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“Needle by Needle, a Heroin Crisis Grips California’s Rural North”
“Needle by Needle, a Heroin Crisis Grips California’s Rural North” from the New
York Times on November 8, 2018 discusses extensive use of opoids using surgical
needles which is in combination with homelessness created an epidemic condition in the
United States of America.
Barman-Adhikari et al., (2018) conducted a study to understand the effect of
availability of injectible drugs on their mental state and they found that due to lack of
governmental policies and norms, littered injections were easily available around the
homeless people which further worked as an enticing factor (Real, 2018). It had also been
stated by many of the residents dwelling in the homeless encampments that the clearing
of the camps further worsened their condition and propelled them towards drug addiction.
It has been reported that the homeless people did not take meth recreationally but just to
keep them awake at night so that they could move around and keep themselves safe from
the random frisking activities done by the police (Hickton & Leary, 2015). The article
here relates homelessness with drug addiction. As mentioned by Quinones (2015),
removing the vulnerable people from the homeless encampments has subjected them to
greater dangers.
Additionally, the homelessness along with constant moving and carving for food
had made people restore to unethical means of gaining energy (Barman-Adhikari et al.,
2018). The hunger and the helplessness made the homeless bohemians suffer from
physical exhaustion and mental anxiety. The lack of easy meth availability further made
people more prone to heroin addiction.The federal government agencies should try to

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bring the maximum number of homeless people under social support programs as the
ratio is very less which further enhances the problem (CDC, 2018).

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References
Barman-Adhikari, A., Craddock, J., Bowen, E., Das, R., & Rice, E. (2018). The Relative
Influence of Injunctive and Descriptive Social Norms on Methamphetamine,
Heroin, and Injection Drug Use Among Homeless Youths: The Impact of
Different Referent Groups. Journal of Drug Issues, Vol. 48, issue 1, pp. 17-35.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042617726080
CDC. (2018). Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities:
Recommendations of CDC and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices
Advisory Committee (HICPAC). Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5210a1.htm
Hickton, D. J., & Leary, M. L. (2015). National heroin task force final report and
recommendations. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy. Retrieved from :https://wvrha.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/01/Heroin-Task-Force-Final-Report-Jan-31
Quinones, S. (2015). Dreamland: the true tale of America's opiate epidemic. Bloomsbury
Publishing USA. Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=S9fVBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT16&dq=Quinones,+S.+(2015).
+Dreamland:+the+true+tale+of+America%27s+opiate+epidemic.
+Bloomsbury+Publishing+USA.&ots=xb_4fUTvws&sig=lID6EpBveH-
4F7xk8X1Pt15Wx3s#v=onepage&q=Quinones%2C%20S.%20(2015).
%20Dreamland%3A%20the%20true%20tale%20of%20America's%20opiate
%20epidemic.%20Bloomsbury%20Publishing%20USA.&f=false

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Real, J. (2018). Needle by Needle, a Heroin Crisis Grips California’s Rural North.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/california-heroin-
opioid.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHomeless
%20Persons&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&mod
ule=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection