Adolescent Substance Use: America's #1 Public Health Problem

2011 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-158
Author(s):  
Edore Onigu-Otite ◽  
Miju Kurtzweil ◽  
Veronica Tucci ◽  
Nidal Moukaddam

Background: Adolescent substance use is a dynamic public health problem. Adolescence is a unique developmental period involving overlapping biological, psychological, and social factors which increase the rates of initiation of substance use. The developing adolescent brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of substances and most adults with substance use disorders began to have symptoms and problems in their adolescent years. Yet, for various reasons, most adolescents who use, misuse, abuse, or are addicted to substances do not perceive the need for treatment. Objective: Drug and alcohol use among adolescents is a common presentation in hospital Emergency Departments (EDs) and presents in different forms including in association with intoxication, withdrawal states, or trauma associated with drug-related events. For many adolescents with substance use, the Emergency Department (ED) is the first point of contact with medical personnel and thus also serves as a potential entry point into treatment. Methods: This article reviews the common ways drug and alcohol problems present in the ED, clinical assessment of the patient and family, screening, laboratory testing, brief interventions in the ED, and referral to treatment beyond the ED. Conclusion: Guidelines on how to manage the shifting terrain of adolescent substance use presenting in EDs across the nation continue to evolve. We highlight that considerable further research is needed to inform effective ED protocols to address this important individual and public health safety concern. Systems of care models which include collaborative teams of diverse stake holders are needed to effectively manage adolescents with substance use disorders..


2021 ◽  
pp. 105984052110095
Author(s):  
Anna Bourgault ◽  
LuAnn Etcher

Substance abuse in adolescents has been recognized as a public health problem at the national and global levels. Adolescents are at risk for experimenting with substances. School nurses in secondary schools are well positioned to screen and counsel students on substance use. In this project, school nurses’ self-efficacy levels increased in using the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) process posteducation, and SBIRT was integrated into school nurses’ practice. Initiatives aimed at stopping or preventing substance use are beneficial for a healthy society.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Mold

Recent attempts to approach drug and alcohol problems as a public health issue in the UK and globally have begun to achieve some success. Yet, in historical terms, the idea that the use of psychoactive substances should be regarded as a public health problem is a relatively new one. In the UK, it was only in the latter half of the 20th century that what were termed “public health” approaches to alcohol and drugs began to gain purchase. Moreover, what was meant by a “public health” framing of psychoactive substance use changed over time and between substances. This article examines the development of public health approaches to drugs and alcohol in Britain since the 19th century. It suggests that a public health view of substance use existed alongside, and interacted with, other approaches to drug and alcohol use. To understand the meaning of a “public health” framing of drugs and alcohol we need to locate this in historical and geographical context.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tewodros Yosef ◽  
Dawit Getachew

Abstract Background: Worldwide, substance use among undergraduate students is a major public health problem and over 29 million people worldwide suffer from substance-related disorders. The use of substances is a growing concern in Ethiopia, in a particular college and university students are the most at risk of substance use and their impacts on the younger generation have become a great concern. Despite some shreds of evidence are available regarding substance use, the problem is not well studied among these groups of the population. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence, associated factors, and health and academic effects of substance use among undergraduate students at Mizan-Tepi University in Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 544 regular undergraduate students of Mizan-Tepi University in Ethiopia. Data were collected using a pre-tested self-administered structured questionnaire. The data analysis was done using SPSS version 20. The level of significance in the multivariable logistic regression analysis was declared at a p-value < 0.05.Results: Of the 544 respondents interviewed, the lifetime and current prevalence of substance use among students in Mizan-Tepi University was 62.5% and 27.9% respectively. The most common reported lifetime and current substance use was alcohol drinking with 42.6% and 23% respectively. The study also found that being male (AOR=3.01, 95% CI [1.64-5.53]), being Muslim (AOR=3.13, 95% CI [1.64-5.96]), from urban residence (AOR=3.12, 95% CI [3.01-5.31]), having divorced/separated parents (AOR=3.08, 95% CI [1.64-5.79]), having family substance use (AOR=7.98, 95% CI [5.52-11.6]) and peer substance use (AOR=4.33, 95% CI [2.68-7.26]) were the factors significantly associated with current substance use.Conclusion: The current prevalence of substance use was substantially higher. We can say that substance use is a public health problem among university students in Ethiopia. Higher education institutions should consider designing programs to control substance use among students to improve their student's health and academic performance. Parents should closely monitor the behavior of their children by communicating with teachers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Witt ◽  
Rebecca Brown ◽  
Paul L. Plener ◽  
Elmar Brähler ◽  
Jörg M. Fegert ◽  
...  

Zusammenfassung. Kindesmisshandlung stellt einen bedeutenden Risikofaktor für die Entwicklung dar. Einzelne Formen von Kindesmisshandlung treten häufig nicht isoliert auf, sondern das gemeinsame Auftreten verschiedener Formen von Kindesmisshandlung stellt eher die Regel als die Ausnahme dar. Neben den langfristigen und vielfältigen individuellen Folgen führt Kindesmisshandlung jährlich zu einer hohen gesamtgesellschaftlichen Belastung. Die WHO hat Kindesmisshandlung als großes Public Health Problem identifiziert und die Vereinten Nationen haben den Kampf gegen Kindesmisshandlung zum Ziel in ihrer Agenda für nachhaltige Entwicklung gemacht. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag werden die Häufigkeit sowie das gemeinsame Auftreten unterschiedlicher Formen von Kindesmisshandlung sowie deren Assoziation mit psychischen und somatischen Folgen auf Basis einer bevölkerungsrepräsentativen Stichprobe untersucht und dargestellt. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen den Zusammenhang zwischen der Kumulation verschiedener Formen von Misshandlung und negativen Folgen für die Betroffenen. So ist das Risiko für negative Konsequenzen beim Erleben von vier oder mehr Formen von Misshandlung um das bis zu 10-fache erhöht. Viel zu selten werden die kumulativen Effekte von mehreren Belastungen berücksichtigt. Gerade weil die Wirkweisen über die Misshandlung, die Gesundheit beeinflusst, zunehmend gut untersucht sind, muss dieses Wissen im Gesundheitswesen stärker bei der Konzeption von Präventions- und Interventionsmaßnahmen berücksichtigt werden.


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