Introduction
Heroin addiction is a problem that bothers millions of people around the whole world. Multiple attempts are taken to prevent this type of dependency and protect the population against heroin in its various forms. Today, it is a well-known fact that heroin cause human death. Still, not all people are aware of such detail as that about 115 American people die every day (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018). The development and promotion of service delivery programs are serious steps to protect people against heroin addiction. People should be educated on how to dangerous heroin can be in their lives and for the lives of their family members and friends. In this paper, special attention to an educational program to prevent heroin addiction will be paid through explaining its goals, basic tenets, ethnic, social, and cultural considerations, and ethical concerns.
Description, Goal, and Mission of a Preventive Program
The creation of a preventative program is a serious step that should meet certain requirements and standards. It may be a community-based program with a number of laypersons being involved in it (Wheeler, Jones, Gilbert, & Davidson, 2015). In addition, preventive programs are expected to include the description of risk factors and other conditions under which people are exposed to this addiction (Albert et al., 2015). The chosen educational program meets both these requirements as its goals are to identify the risk factors of heroin addiction, recognize the steps to overcome this health problem and develop an action plan that can be appropriate for communities.
The mission of the chosen program is to educate people about the threats of heroin. Nowadays, it is officially reported that more than 15 million people use illicit opioids that contribute to heroin addiction (Schottenfeld & O’Malley, 2016). Still, the unofficial number of addicted people remains unknown. It is wrong to expect that all people can be educated in terms of one program. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on one particular community to achieve positive results and promote change. The participants of this program have to get access to the information about heroin addiction globally and recognize the suggestions that can be made locally. The main peculiarity of this educational program is to determine the number of participants who are the people with unsuccessful attempts to quit drug use or mentally challenged people of a different age because of drug abuse. First, the participants work with a variety of sources about heroin available to them, and then, they discuss their personal experiences and outcomes to share their knowledge.
Basic Tenets of the Etiology Model
The etiology of heroin abuse may be explained in a variety of ways. The reasons for why a person decides to try heroin depends on different factors, including physiological problems, psychological changes, or social concerns. Jadidi and Nakhaee (2014) offer three main categories to describe the etiology of drug abuse: biological, social, and psychological. This model is a good solution for a service delivery program as it helps to identify different perspectives and guide the participants.
Education about heroin has to be developed through the prism of the chosen three tenets of the model. First, the participants have to define the biological causes of their addiction and share if their problems are genetic or not. Some people are just not able to resist the impulses and make a decision to try heroin because of poorly developed brain function (Horvath, Mista, Epner, & Cooper, 2016). Second, social tenets such as poverty and unemployment or vice versa, richness, and a variety of options can challenge people and make them consider heroin as a solution to their problems. Finally, this educational program focuses on the psychological tenet, proving that personal concerns, the lack of social support, or family problems can be a reason for taking drugs and future drug abuse. This program has the type of model with the help of which people can define and share their emotions.
Ethnic, Cultural, and Social Considerations
Special attention to ethnic, cultural, and social considerations must be paid in terms of this educational program. Though some people think that race or ethnicity defines their decision to take drugs, such thought has to be removed from this program. The peculiar feature of this educational program is that any person despite their ethnic or cultural background can ask for help and get the required explanations, support, and understanding. For example, several years ago, people used to think that the Black male population is the main contributor and user of drugs, including heroin. Today, the investigations show that “women, non-Hispanic white individuals, and people with higher incomes and private insurance” suffer from drug addiction (Schottenfeld & O’Malley, 2016, p. 437). Therefore, the re-consideration of ethnic, cultural, and social issues is required to understand better the nature of heroin addiction.
This program invites all people who are ready to cooperate and admit that they have a problem. The diversity of people who suffer from heroin addiction is impressive today, and it is wrong for program developers to create strict ethnic or cultural boundaries. The chosen educational program aims at overcoming social concerns, but focusing on the solution of problems and readiness to share them with the community.
Ethical Considerations and Concerns
Ethical considerations and concerns should not cause new problems and doubts among the potential members of the program. The implementation of the educational program under analysis is the step the shows how equality and respect determine the relationships between different people. This service delivery program offers education to people. Therefore, ethical considerations may touch upon the presence of fair and similar resources to all participants, the possibility to solve doubts within a group, and the use of appropriate behavioral models in terms of which prejudice and pride can be eliminated. In addition, commitment to the participants and confidentiality cannot be neglected. If the participants do not want to involve their parents, they are welcome to address their friends for help or, vice versa, never inform friends or colleagues about possible problems, but make drug abuse as a family-centered concern (Jadidi & Nakhaee, 2014). Collaboration and trust between the participants of the program are the key factors in exchanging and improving their knowledge.
Conclusion
To conclude, the chosen prevention program with the goal to identify the risk factors or heroin addiction and to create a plan for the community to prevent abuse complications can help many people in their intentions to stop using heroin. Sometimes, people may be ready to recognize heroin addiction as their problem, but cannot succeed because of weak social or family support. Therefore, the community-based educational program free from ethnic, cultural, and social considerations is the solution that can be offered. Heroin addiction is a serious problem that requires a strong plan of action. This educational program meets the requirements and guides people.
References
Albert, D., Belsky, D. W., Crowley, D. M., Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S., Lansford, J. E., … Dodge, K. A. (2015). Developmental medication of genetic variation in response to the fast track prevention program. Development and Psychopathology, 27(1), 81-95.
Horvath, A. T., Mista, K., Epner, A. K., & Cooper, G. M. (2016). Biological causes of addiction. Web.
Jadidi, N., & Nakhaee, N. (2014). Etiology of drug abuse: A narrative analysis. Journal of Addiction, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/352835
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018). Opioid overdose crisis. Web.
Schottenfeld, R. S., & O’Malley, S. S. (2016). Meeting the growing need for heroin addiction treatment. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(5), 437-438.
Wheeler, E., Jones, T. S., Gilbert, M. K., & Davidson, P. J. (2015). Opioid overdose prevention programs providing naloxone to laypersons – United States, 2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 64(25), 631-635.