Identify the Population Health concern you selected.

Opioid crisis

Describe the Population Health concern you selected and the factors that contribute to it.

The opioid crisis is a matter that effects everyone in the United States. Some contributing factors to the opioid crisis are prescription and nonprescription drugs, physicians, history of substance abuse, and psychological disorders. Rummans, Burton, and Dawson (2018) states, “Opioid use impacts all ages, sexes, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and especially those in rural settings.”

Administration (President Name)

Donald Trump

Barack Obama

George W. Bush

Describe the administrative agenda focus related to this issue for the current and two previous presidents.

President Donald Trump’s agenda on the opioid crisis is separated into three parts. “Part 1 is reducing demand and over-prescription, including educating

Americans about the dangers of opioid misuse. Part 2 is cutting down on the supply of illicit drugs by cracking down on the international and domestic drug supply chains that devastate American communities. Part 3 is helping those struggling with addiction through evidence-based treatment and recovery support services,” (Ending America’s Opioid Crisis, n.d.).

Former President Barack Obama seemed to focus more on properly disposing medications as well as support for those who have opioid addictions. According to https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov (2011), “The Administration’s Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis provides a national framework for reducing prescription drug diversion and abuse by supporting the expansion of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs, recommending more convenient and environmentally responsible disposal methods to remove unused medications from the home, supporting education for patients and healthcare providers, and reducing the prevalence of pill mills and doctor shopping through enforcement efforts.”

When Former President George W. Bush was in office, the opioid crisis was not quite a “crisis” yet. Instead, I will focus on his agenda regarding drug control in general. According to The President’s National Drug Control Strategy (2002), “The President’s National Drug Control Strategy is based on three core principles: stopping drug use before it starts, healing America’s drug users, and disrupting the market. The President’s National Drug Control Strategy seeks to reduce use of illegal drugs by 10 percent over 2 years, and 25 percent over 5 years. These goals apply both to drug use among young Americans (12-17 age group) and among adults.”

Identify the allocations of financial and other resources that the current and two previous presidents dedicated to this issue.

“As of October 2018, the Trump Administration had secured $6 billion in new funding over a two-year window to fight opioid abuse,” (Ending America’s Opioid Crisis, n.d.).

During Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week in 2016, Former President Obama requested Congress to fund $1.1 billion towards the opioid crisis. According to https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov (2016), “the President continues to call on Congress to provide $1.1 billion in new funding to make sure everyone who wants treatment for an opioid use disorder can get the treatment they need.”

The President’s National Drug Control Strategy (2002) indicates many different financial plans dedicated towards the drug problem. The following points were made regarding finances- “Overall, for 2003, the Administration proposes $3.8 billion for drug treatment, an increase of more than 6 percent over 2002… To help secure our borders, the President’s budget includes $2.3 billion for drug interdiction, an increase of over 10 percent from 2002… The Administration is requesting $731 million in dedicated funds in 2003 for the Andean Counterdrug Initiative to be applied in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.”

Explain how each of the presidential administrations approached the issue.

According to Ending America’s Opioid Crisis (n.d.), “To curb over-prescription, the President implemented a Safer Prescribing Plan that will cut opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years. President Trump is fighting to keep dangerous drugs out of the United States by securing land borders, ports of entry, and waterways against smuggling. In 2018, President Trump worked with Congress to pass the SUPPORT Act, the single largest legislative package addressing a single drug crisis in history.”

Some of the actions Federal agencies took towards the opioid crisis are, “Expanding substance use disorder treatment in the TRICARE system to include coverage of intensive outpatient programs and treatment of opioid use disorders with medication-assisted treatment. Establishing enhanced measures in conjunction with the Chinese government to combat the supply of fentanyl and its analogues coming to the United States. Supporting distance learning and telemedicine programs that expand access to healthcare, substance use disorder treatment, and educational opportunities in rural communities,” (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov, 2016)

According to The President’s National Drug Control Strategy (2002), the three core principles are “stopping drug use before it starts, healing America’s drug users, and disrupting the market.” In order to stop drug use before it starts, former President Bush explains that people should be taught at church, home, school, etc. that good citizenship means avoiding drugs. To heal America’s drug users, he wants to get people who have drug addictions into proper treatment programs. Finally, disrupting the market means to stop drug trafficking across our nation’s boarders as well as within the United States.