Introduction
In the limits of this presentation, it is planned to highlight the main problems in the field of modern healthcare. In addition to characterizing the most pressing issues in the environment of modern medicine, there is a task to propose the most effective strategies for their resolution and the supported development of the healthcare institution in the country. The significance of these strategies is quite high, since being focused on the most important problems of our time, they can approach their elimination at the administrative or federal level. As the main topic of concern for the Institute of Medicine today, it is proposed to consider the problem of the opioid crisis, mental problems, and their risks, as well as the situation with obesity in American society. These issues are of great interest to modern health care because they appear to be massively disturbing aspects of civilization in the 21st century.
Opioid Crisis
The crisis of poorly controlled prescription narcotic analgesics that act on the brain’s opioid receptors is probably the deadliest problem in modern American public health. The opioid crisis is costing the country huge sums of money as it deprives society of the labor force and increases crime rates. Also, the abuse of this type of drug leads to intractable addiction and deaths in the tens of thousands, especially among young people. It is required to organize a large-scale volunteer campaign, within the framework of which free help was offered to those suffering from opioid dependence. Health policies implemented against this addiction include practices such as behavioral therapy or drug treatment. Opening rehabilitation centers accessible to the middle and lower class of society would also greatly help millions of people in crisis.
Mental Health Issues
Discussing the problems associated with the well-being of modern Americans, it is impossible not to mention the issue of the mental health of US residents, which is large-scale in its problematic nature. Statistics indicate that one in five Americans suffer from some form of mental illness, while one in twenty-five experiences severe mental illness. The problem also concerns children and adolescents, for whom personal life and interaction with society are complicated by the issue of deteriorating mental health. Government investment in a variety of areas of mental health care could be a step toward reducing the number of mental disorders. Psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic services can be made more accessible while training more practitioners in academic institutions. A social advertising campaign that emphasized the connection of mental disorders and general anxiety levels with addiction to social networks and news resources would probably help as well.
Obesity Epidemic
Another demographic catastrophe threatening the United States is the obesity epidemic. Since the 1980s, this crisis has only gotten worse, with more and more obese Americans every year (Callahan, Leonard & Powell, 2021). This problem is extremely common and affects children due to the lack of healthy eating habits. For children, obesity is especially dangerous because it affects metabolism and can persist for life, mutilating the body. Reducing the number of obesogenic conditions might solve a problem that is not only medical but also socio-demographic. It is required to carry out explanatory campaigns and special seminars on social networks. In this way, the younger generation at risk would be taught how to change their regular physical activity, reducing the amount of cholesterol and calories consumed. This could have a qualitative improvement both in the general well-being of the population in the neighborhoods and their work productivity. The obesogenic environment is unlikely to evaporate from the States soon, so people need to get used to living in it without succumbing to temptations.
Effect of Health Policies on Government
Each era has its social characteristics, largely shaped by the policy of the state. Large-scale health crises are caused by the indifferent health policy pursued in the United States. That is why, as part of the work, additional strategies were proposed to help reduce the level of each of these problems on a national scale. The opioid crisis problem is so urgent because of modern health policy, in which rapid access to synthetic drugs is causing an epidemic of addiction.
The lack of preventive measures to reduce the risk of mental illness has its unfortunate results in the above statistics that one-fifth of Americans suffer from a mental disorder.
Despite policies since the middle of the 20th century simplifying life and access to treatment for the mentally ill, their number is only increasing, which should also be associated with the pace of life and an overabundance of information flows. The lack of serious measures to combat the consumerist establishment is one of the obvious reasons for the ongoing obesity epidemic. Thus, it can be said that the insufficient number of preventive policies in modern American lawmaking forms a portrait of a society suffering from obesity, neuroses, and drug addiction.
Conclusion
These three problems and policies for overcoming them were chosen as the most characteristic crisis aspects of modern American society. It should be noted that all these aspects directly affect the life of the younger generation and have the potential to destroy young people’s prospects for a happy and healthy life. It is this concern for the future of young people that determined the design of the presentation. In this regard, the concentration was not only on the policies themselves and their influence on the government and society but also on the possible prospects that the state could consider.
References
Callahan, A., Leonard, H., & Powell, T. (2021). Obesity epidemic – Causes and solutions. LibreTexts Medicine. Web.