Goal and Mission of an Educational Program
Heroin addiction was identified as a dangerous condition that could lead to a variety of serious health implications. In addition, the negative influence of the substance presents societal challenges, especially for communities where heroin is being sold illegally. Thus, the goal of an educational program associated with heroin abuse is identifying risk factors for addiction, developing steps for overcoming it, and creating an action plan to educate communities on how to prevent it from occurring in the future. The overall mission of the program is to make sure that participants overcome the problem of heroin abuse through having information and tools necessary for dealing with the issue.
It is important to mention that an educational program is especially relevant in specific cultural contexts because heroin addiction is prevalent in separate cultural groups. This means that methods of dealing with addiction also vary across these groups. While some use counseling, others gravitate toward medicine-oriented treatment. Overall, the educational program targeted at overcoming the issue of heroin abuse is providing communities with all-encompassing information on the most appropriate ways of dealing with the problem. The cultural variable should be at the center of the program due to the variability of approaches toward the issue.
With regard to the program’s general description, it is expected that it will be divided into four main stages. The first stage includes the preparation for the program, taking into account the cultural, ethnic, racial, and ethical considerations of a target group. The second stage is associated with the selection and enrollment of participants suitable for passing the program. Inclusion criteria will involve the history of substance abuse, unsuccessful efforts to quit the use of drugs and mental and physical challenges associated with abuse. Participants of any age, gender, ethnicity, and social status will be enrolled. The third stage implies lessons that participants will attend to get relevant information on overcoming heroin abuse. At the final stage, educators will conduct a survey to determine participants’ satisfaction with the program and identify what they have learned during the course.
Support for the Use of the Model in the Educational Program
With the permeation of evidence-based practice within the context of developing health care policies and systems, models that deal with the analysis of specific problems are expected to align with the initiative (Glasner-Edwards & Rawson, 2010). Within the educational program, the etiology model was chosen for analyzing the nature of addiction to heroin within the sociological perspective. Key tenets of the etiology model are associated with the identification of specific attributes that a group or community has in order to determine what expectations and norms are linked to overcoming healthcare (or any other) challenges. In addition, personal characteristics of an individual are also included in the etiology model because they can help researchers identify how different perspectives of separate people can contribute to shaping the approach of the group toward overcoming substance abuse.
The model was identified as useful for researching richer accounts of substance abuse risk factors as compared with the infrequent use of drugs (Jadidi & Nakhaee, 2014). Learning about people’s stories about their experiences with heroin addiction can give scholars extensive cultural information, as well as help, prioritize preventative measures for increasing findings’ practicality. Researchers have underlined the fact that opinions of different cultural groups on addiction and methods of dealing with it can support the views of experts. This is so because laymen’s conceptualization of risks associated with the use of the addictive substance is richer because some of them have experienced the problem first-hand.
The etiology model will allow educators to recognize how well a specific suggestion or intervention will be received by the program’s participants. Since adherence to a proposed program is the key to overcoming substance addiction, the etiology model should be used for connecting culture-specific treatment in areas such as community, social context, and connection to individuals (Rowan et al., 2014). When dealing with representatives of minorities, the etiology model will help researchers identify the extent of incorporating specific educational and interventional plans. For instance, for the Aboriginal population, it may be an effective strategy to combine a holistic model, which is familiar to them, with contemporary medical interventions for treating addiction. Aboriginal and other minority populations will need educators to pay more attention to connecting mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of well-being to facilitate participants’ awareness of their addiction and lead them toward recovery (Rowan et al., 2014). Overall, the etiology model makes it possible for educators to develop a cohesive strategy for addressing the issue of substance addiction through analyzing specific characteristics of the group that participates in the educational program.
Ethnic, Cultural, and Social Considerations
Specifics and differences of program participants can be attributed to various ethnic, cultural, and cultural considerations. Participants can exhibit differences in their knowledge, traditions, beliefs, religion, as well as attitudes toward different life phenomena. Because of this, program facilitators and implementers should communicate with community leaders to gain relevant information on how a specific population should be approached in the delivery of useful information. Some questions for exploration may include “What is the community’s history? What norms and traditions exist? What are the community trends and demographics? What are the community’s specific interests, needs, and assets?” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014, p. 7). An understanding of racial, ethnic, and cultural characteristics of program participants is also necessary for “appreciating the diversity of human dynamics and to educate clients effectively” (SAMHSA, 2014, p. 4). Several considerations regarding this point should be taken.
First, it is important to examine the ethnic heritage of the educational group and whether drug use belonged to the heritage. Second, at the planning stage of the educational program, facilitators should identify whether the cultural experiences of a specific group can influence the attitude toward the educational program, especially when presented information goes against established cultural norms. Some cultural groups can have a negative attitude toward the use of medication and prefer holistic methods of recovery. The example of Native Americans is applicable to this case (“Native American communities and mental health,” 2016). Third, racial considerations, such as the prevalence of substance abuse within a specific group with certain racial characteristics, should be evaluated. For instance, as mentioned in the findings of the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation, KFF (2016) report, non-Hispanic whites have the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths, which means that extra attention should be paid to the characteristics of this particular group. The exploration of risk factors that increase the likelihood of opioid overdose in a given population is another step taken at the preparation stage for an educational program.
Ethical Concerns
Since the etiology model implies considerations associated with racial, ethnic, and cultural characteristics of a population, taking into account some ethical issues that may arise is instrumental. As mentioned by DeCamp et al. (2018), implementers of educational programs can face a variety of ethical challenges in regard to their commitment to both individual participants and broader groups. Because of this, there should be a significant shift “from clinical to public health ethics” concerning the welfare of group participants (DeCamp et al., 2018, p. 372).
In the realm of public health ethics, the facilitators of an educational program should take into account several units of concern. First, group welfare, safety, and protection from harm should be established as primary ethical principles. Secondary ethical principles should include equity and protection of participants’ liberty rights (DeCamp et al., 2018). When it comes to paradigmatic ethical issues that can arise during the educational program, the following three points should be mentioned:
- Issues with determining fair resource allocation at times of struggles for resources;
- Tensions that exist between individual decisions and recommendations given during the educational program;
- Influencing individual choices through the use of behavioral coaching.
When developing an educational program to address the challenges associated with heroin addiction, facilitators should have respect for participants’ humanity as well as the right for them to make informed decisions based on personal opinions. This means that the goal of the program should require educators to enforce their judgment in helping participants make the right decisions concerning overcoming heroin abuse through different methods. Informed decision-making supported through the collaboration between participants and their educators is the final goal of ensuring the just and ethical approach toward program implementation.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Practical strategies for culturally competent evaluation. Web.
DeCamp, M., Pomerantz, D., Cotts, K., Dzeng, E., Farber, N., Lehmann, L., … Tilburt, J. (2018). Ethical issues in the design and implementation of population health programs. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33(3), 370-375.
Glasner-Edwards, S., & Rawson, R. (2010). Evidence-based practices in addiction treatment: Review and recommendations for public policy. Health Policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 97(2-3), 93-104.
Jadidi, N., & Nakhaee, N. (2014). Etiology of drug abuse: A narrative analysis. Journal of Addiction, 2014, 352-359.
KFF. (2016). Opioid overdose deaths by race/ethnicity. Web.
Native American communities and mental health. (2016). Web.
Rowan, M., Poole, N., Shea, B., Gone, J. P., Mykota, D., Farag, M., … Dell, C. (2014). Cultural interventions to treat addictions in Indigenous populations: Findings from a scoping study. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 9, 34-39.
SAMHSA. (2014). A treatment improvement protocol. Improving cultural competence. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.