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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Despite how problematic and life-threatening addiction and substance abuse can be, many people who struggle with these problems don’t get the help that they need, putting them at a higher risk of death.
In fact, new research has shown that teens and young adults who have overdosed on opioids and survived did not receive timely evidence-based treatment for their addiction.
The study examined over 3600 youths who survived an opioid overdose and remained enrolled in Medicaid and found that nearly 70 percent did not receive addiction treatment within 30 days.
Overall, there are a number of barriers that can impede someone from receiving the treatment that they need. Some of the common barriers that people commonly refer to when discussing substance abuse treatment include fear, lack of time, lack of availability, and more.
Another major barrier that can impede with someone seeking treatment is the stigma that is associated with substance abuse, mental health services, and rehab.
One recommendation that the study gave for improving these treatment rates is to utilize interventions and link youths to treatment shortly after an overdose and prioritize improving access to recommended pharmacotherapy.
The Opioid Crisis and Adolescents
Despite the efforts put forth my local and national organizations, the opioid crisis is still a major problem in the United States with more than 130 Americans dying every day from opioid overdoses across the country.
It should be noted that opioid misuse among adolescents and high schoolers is decreasing. For example, misuse of pain medication has decreased from 9.5 percent in 2004 to 3.4 percent in 2018. Moreover, in 2010, 54 percent of students in 12th grade believed that drugs were easily accessible compared to 32.5 percent in 2018.
Preventing Opioid Misuse
There are a number of ways that opioid misuse can be prevented among adolescents. Because the adolescent brain is still growing means that teens are vulnerable to addiction.
One way that opioids can be avoided is by ensuring that pain treatment plans are done cautiously. It has been found that adolescents are often exposed to opioid through prescriptions, in fact, dentist prescriptions account for 31 percent of an adolescents’ first exposure to opioids. Obviously, this can be the catalyst for these problems. It can be a good idea to look for alternative forms of treatment for pain and also ensure that an adolescent is not misusing painkillers when they are prescribed.
The best way that you can ensure that leftover painkillers are not used would be to use a drug takeback program to safely dispose of these substances.
Moreover, parents can also simply talk to their teens about pain treatment and opioid misuse. It is important that they understand that this is a problem throughout the country with many potentially dangerous and harmful consequences.
Until the opioid crisis is behind us, there will always be substance abuse problems among adolescents and Americans in general. While organizations as well as national and state governments have made efforts to conquer this problem, more needs to be done before it is fully solved.