Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention Essay

Exclusively available on IvyPanda Available only on IvyPanda

Introduction

Today, the US is one of the largest consumers of opioids in the world. The overwhelming production and prescription of opioid painkillers have considerably altered the spread of the opioid disease. If a patient shows symptoms of addiction, health practitioners should help him manage the disease, and one of the ways to do that is to apply various types of disease prevention. The purpose of this essay is to apply the public health concept of three levels of disease prevention to the current opioid crisis.

We will write a custom essay on your topic a custom Essay on Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention
808 writers online

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Prevention

There are three types of disease prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The way that these three prevention types are differentiated is by the stage of disease development. According to Kisling and Das (2019), “combined, these strategies not only aim to prevent the onset of disease through risk reduction but also downstream complications of a manifested disease” (para. 1). Primary prevention focuses on eliminating risk factors for disease or injury. Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and treatment (usually pre-clinical). The final type of disease prevention is the tertiary strategy that attempts to eliminate/moderate disease/disability associated with advanced disease.

Levels of Opioid Disease Prevention

The main component of primary prevention is thoughtful and cautious opioid prescribing. According to Peglow and Binswanger (2018), “avoiding exposure to opioids may reduce the incidence of addiction and death from overdose” (p. 623). Therefore, healthcare providers should aim at applying nonopioid or even nonpharmacologic therapy for pain. Another method of primary prevention is to promote health literacy on the risks of opioid therapy among patients. One of the strategies of secondary prevention is urine drug testing. Researchers note that “testing can help identify patients who warrant further education about opioid safety, evaluation for a substance use disorder (SUD), and referral for treatment” (Peglow & Binswanger, 2018, p. 625).

Tertiary opioid disease prevention is the use of methadone maintenance treatment. Methadone is often prescribed as a replacement for other opioids, for example, morphine and heroin. During the program of replacement, a patient can reduce severe withdrawal symptoms, such as muscle cramps, anxiety, panic, depression, and others.

Conclusion

Using three levels of disease prevention in practice aims at reducing risks or threats to health. The method can make a significant contribution to combating the opioid epidemic. The strategy helps to fight the disease at each level of its development. Therefore, health professionals have to apply primary, secondary, and tertiary types of prevention to combat the spread of opioid disease among the population.

References

Kisling, L. A., & Das, J. M. (2019). . Web.

Peglow, S. L., & Binswanger, I. A. (2018). Preventing opioid overdose in the clinic and hospital: analgesia and opioid antagonists. Medical Clinics, 102(4), 621-634.

1 hour!
The minimum time our certified writers need to deliver a 100% original paper
Print
Need an custom research paper on Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention written from scratch by a professional specifically for you?
808 writers online
Cite This paper
Select a referencing style:

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, February 10). Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention. https://ivypanda.com/essays/opioid-disease-prevention-levels-of-disease-prevention/

Work Cited

"Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention." IvyPanda, 10 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/opioid-disease-prevention-levels-of-disease-prevention/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention'. 10 February.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention." February 10, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/opioid-disease-prevention-levels-of-disease-prevention/.

1. IvyPanda. "Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention." February 10, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/opioid-disease-prevention-levels-of-disease-prevention/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Opioid Disease Prevention: Levels of Disease Prevention." February 10, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/opioid-disease-prevention-levels-of-disease-prevention/.

Powered by CiteTotal, best bibliography generator
If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda. Request the removal
More related papers
Cite
Print
1 / 1