Opportunities for Professional Collaboration
To ensure that the collaboration aimed at eliminating the effects of heroin addiction is successful and effective, an important condition is informed decision-making. According to Zhang, Tan, Hao, and Deng (2017) who describe their research, a community-based integrated model “is highly feasible with high treatment retention” (p. 54046). An appropriate working environment should be created where participants can share experiences and important information regarding the intervention. The involvement of stakeholders is an essential condition for the effectiveness of this model of work and its results, and all the roles should be allocated in accordance with the capabilities of the program’s participants.
The Ways of Stakeholders’ Collaboration
Collaboration opportunities for the intervention may be open to all. The role of professional medical experts-narcologists is to monitor the progress of work and control the results, noting all the nuances. Leaders should head working groups and allocate responsibilities among the participants of the intervention. Various agencies and political representatives can act as supervisory boards and provide formal opportunities for specific procedures. As Luchenski et al. (2018) note, “dedicated resources and better collaboration” are needed for positive outcomes. Therefore, contact may be established with different stakeholders.
Skills Needed for the Leader of the Collaboration
When in the role of the leader of the collaboration, it is significant to take into account the strengths of all the stakeholders and allocate responsibilities effectively. According to Molfenter et al. (2017), organizational leadership and culture support the plan of intervention and contribute to maintaining the positive working environment. It is possible to succeed by showing patience and not demanding too much since the task is not easy, and a step-by-step solution is likely to be more effective than an attempt to solve the problem in the shortest possible time.
Trends to Follow
In the process of the intervention aimed at helping people with heroin addiction, certain trends should be observed so that the work could be as effective as possible. As Singh and Gupta (2017) remark, the gender factor is to be taken into account. According to the authors, “the impact of drug use tends to be greater on women, because women lack access to care for drug dependence” (p. 186). Also, another trend that can be useful is group therapy. Sometimes it is difficult for people with severe drug addiction to decide on treatment because of various reasons – embarrassment, shame, uncertainty in a final result, and other causes. However, in the case of collective sessions, a common problem allows people to rally and shows them that their issue is not unique and some members of society also need medical assistance.
Actions to Enhance Professional Development
In order to enhance professional development and achieve higher results in personal preparation for working on the strategies needed for the intervention, statistical data presented in the academic literature should be carefully studied. According to Volkow and McLellan (2016), “28,647 drug overdose deaths (61%) in 2014 in the United States involved some type of opioid, including heroin” (p. 1258). These figures indicate that it is essential to analyze all available information and draw conclusions regarding the patterns, taking into account different factors (gender, age, etc.).
Another significant action is acquaintance with people who need medical help and conversations with them. In order to have an idea of the problem, it is necessary to obtain relevant information directly from patients themselves, conducting relevant surveys and assessing the degree of interest of the target group in performing the intervention. Having such information, it is possible to start from specific issues that disturb patients and make work as much effective as possible.
References
Luchenski, S., Maguire, N., Aldridge, R. W., Hayward, A., Story, A., Perri, P.,… Hewett, N. (2018). What works in inclusion health: Overview of effective interventions for marginalised and excluded populations. The Lancet, 391(10117), 266-280. Web.
Molfenter, T., Knudsen, H. K., Brown, R., Jacobson, N., Horst, J., Van Etten, M.,… Toy, A. (2017). Test of a workforce development intervention to expand opioid use disorder treatment pharmacotherapy prescribers: Protocol for a cluster randomized trial. Implementation Science, 12(1), 135-143. Web.
Singh, J., & Gupta, P. K. (2017). Drug addiction: Current trends and management. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 5(1), 186-201. Web.
Volkow, N. D., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Opioid abuse in chronic pain – Misconceptions and mitigation strategies. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(13), 1253-1263. Web.
Zhang, H. H., Tan, L. X., Hao, W., & Deng, Q. J. (2017). Evaluation of a community-based integrated heroin addiction treatment model in Chinese patients. Oncotarget, 8(33), 54046-54053. Web.