Essay Sample: The Substance Abuse Leading Health Indicators

The American law and policymaking systems are dedicated to ensuring the people's equitable access to quality healthcare. These provisions lead to a call for informed public health programs that aim to ensure the wellbeing of the natives by guaranteeing recovery for those who are diagnosed with a spectrum of health disorders. The state government is also responsible for mobilizing the adoption of the desirable lifestyles and preventable approaches to discerning and acknowledging the dangerous health issue causatives. Substance and alcohol abuse is one of the issues that prolifically contribute to the deterioration of the health standards of the people, especially adolescents and the youth. In light of the American benchmarked standards for health care prevention through sensitization of the public health system regarding the crop up of behavioral and mental malfunctions.

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The Substance Abuse Leading Health Indicators and Program Planning in the United States

The Substance Abuse Leading Health Indicators are tailored to pave the way for improvements in the American public health system whereby the chances of developing resultant health repercussions are significantly alleviated through the promotion of safety living by necessarily avoiding use of substances, which entail illicit drugs and alcohol awareness to enable the spread of prevention skills and techniques as well as cultures that shape practices accordingly. The program entails screening and assisting those who are vulnerable to the care-related consequences of drugs and alcohol use. Notably, the US Federal government recognizes the contribution of substance abuse to health deteriorations among the people when it comes to deterred functionalities of the cognitive and mental systems and negative behavioral developments that jeopardize goal attainment at personal health and communal sustainability levels. The program was prompted by significant growths in the spread of the use of illicit drugs and alcohol in Georgia. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health report for the 2009-2010 period, about 6.5 % of Georgia State was affected by the abusive use of substances whereas a similar issue reflected about 8.8 % of national impacts of substance abuse and alcohol use (Cherpitel & Ye, 2012).

The substance abuse curbing program is split into two major sections; Binge drinking in past month-Adults (SA-14.3) and the Adolescents using alcohol or illicit drugs in past 30 days (SA-13.1) initiatives that aim to channel the natives toward a recognition for the essence behind refraining from the abusive use of illicit drugs and alcohol. Some of the prevalent health issues that are prioritized through these programs are the development of difficulties in attaining career and schooling goals and objectives and an inability to make sound decisions while co-existing with others in the communities and social groups such as schools. Refraining from illicit drugs and alcohol renders the adolescents and youth free from imminent problems such as consequences of irresponsible sexuality lifestyles and alcoholism among other potential mental and physical disorders that emanate from the uncontrolled abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol in an attempt to frequently alter the workability of the brain (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).

Further, the United States society has grown to experience a wide spectrum of violent crimes owing to the spreading use of illicit drugs and alcohol that tamper with the functionality of the cognitive system. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), cases of domestic violence, crime indulgence, and altered performance are common in Georgia State owing to the extensive use of drugs and alcohol. However, as indicated by Figure 1 below, the state interventions through program planning are influential in light of the alleviation of the cases of drug and alcohol abuse in the state as well as the resultant consequences. From the data, it is clear that the number of alcohol and illicit drug users has been on the decrease owing to awareness and the spread of alternative approaches to curbing the consequences of uncontrolled drug use.

For instance, the Atlanta County has been reported to significantly stand out as an influentially high-intensity drug trafficking area (HIDTA). As part of the initiative to contain the effect of illicit drugs and alcohol is the legislation of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) into the 2011 Georgia state law (Stanton et al., 2016). In action, the PDMP law is designed to curb the continuous use of hard drugs such as heroin and opioids in medical prescriptions in the interest of saving the users from addiction and dependency effects of the illicit drugs and alcohol (Patrick, Fry, Jones, & Buntin, 2016). Therefore, the Georgia state pursuance of the Healthy People 2020 initiative echoes the efforts prioritized by the United States to contain the various health issues that spring from the entry of the alcoholic and drug constituent molecules into the alimentary and circulatory systems of users' bodies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, substance abuse is a serious issue in the United States. The Georgia State is one of those in dire need of influential intervention to drug abuse characters and cultures among the people. With a critical focus on the youth, the instituted program focuses on adolescents and the youth based on a 30-day analytical monitoring of drug use trends in the state and the monthly evaluation of the binge drinking trends. Awareness and information sharing are used to enhance the manipulation of translational research findings to transform the people of Georgia toward health sensitivity when it comes to matters uncontrolled use of alcohol and illicit drugs.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (January 2016). Excessive Drinking is Draining the U.S. Economy. [online]. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/features/costsofdrinking/. (Accessed April 21, 2017).

Cherpitel, C. J., & Ye, Y. (2012). Trends in the alcohol-and drug-related emergency department and primary care visits: data from four US national surveys (1995-2010). Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 73(3), 454-458. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3316717/

Georgia Drug Control. (2011). Georgia Drug Control Update. [online]. Retrieved from: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state_profile-georgia.pdf (Accessed: 20th May 2019).

Patrick, S. W., Fry, C. E., Jones, T. F., & Buntin, M. B. (2016). Implementation of prescription drug monitoring programs associated with reductions in opioid-related death rates. Health Affairs, 35(7), 1324-1332. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5155336/

Stanton, C. A., Keith, D. R., Gaalema, D. E., Bunn, J. Y., Doogan, N. J., Redner, R., & Higgins, S. T. (2016). Trends in tobacco use among US adults with chronic health conditions: National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2005-2013. Preventive medicine, 92, 160-168. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5065737/