Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet – Opioid Crisis
Healthcare policy has been an important area of concern on the agendas of the presidents of the United States of America. In recent years, different presidents have outlined top population health issues that concern the public and the nation at large, such as chronic diseases and the recent opioid crisis. This assignment contrasts the opioid crisis with two U. S. presidential administrations, assesses the function of administrative agencies, and creates a fact sheet to advance knowledge of this issue among policymakers.
Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid
In this comparison, the chosen population health concern is the opioid epidemic; this is a public health emergency that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S, both from legal opioids, such as prescription opioids as well as illicit opioids, such as heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl (Blanco et al., 2020). Opioids have become a major social issue, increasing cases of addictions, healthcare costs, and overdose deaths, which have been a concern of several U. S presidential terms.
In 2017, the Trump administration declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency and launched campaigns of prevention, treatment as well as crackdown. The administration stressed the drug medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and supported the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which was outlined to supply funds for the treatment and research of the substance and crack down (USAGov, 2024). Trump’s administration also endeavored funds to increase state-based treatment services and increase the United States’ capability to rein in illicit drug distribution.
The Biden administration is also working to address the opioid crisis, but it has a more postmodern spin and concentrates on harm reduction. Biden’s administration stepped up efforts to provide naloxone, a medication used to counteract opioid overdoses, and sought the use of needle exchange programs to reduce the chances of infections. The administration also pays attention to co-occurring mental health disorders, providing more grants for Dual Diagnosis treatment. The Biden administration included $4 billion for mental health and substance use disorder services in the American Rescue Plan, where a portion of the money was earmarked to address the opioid epidemic (USAGov, 2024). In the aspect of resources, the Trump administration is most active in legislation and enforcement, while the Biden administration is more comprehensive in funding rooted in public health, harm reduction, prevention, and treatment disparities.
Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis
The agency that is most likely to head efforts regarding the opioid crisis is the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), SAMHSA, a sub-unit of HHS. SAMHSA is an important center because it offers grants for substance abuse treatment and prevention and is therefore significant for addressing the opioid crisis. It includes funding for medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders (MAT), substance use disorder recovery, and mental health services critical components to addressing the opioid epidemic (USAGov, 2019). In addition, the CDC will be necessary for the data and monitoring of the opioid issue and the necessity for policy changes according to health data.
The opioid epidemic is an issue that is already affecting the populace, but its position on the president’s agenda depends on push factors such as the public, media, and health advocacy groups. While deaths and addiction related to opioids rise, the problem is newsworthy and requires intervention on the federal level (Dydyk et al., 2024). Once the issue enters an agenda, it stays there due to the recurrent economic implications, such as increasing health care expenses, decreased workforce efficiency, and constant police presence.
The ideal advocate for the opioid crisis is Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U. S. Surgeon General. In his capacity as a public health leader, he has been an advocate for the need for treatment of addiction and substance use. His experience and platform enable him to advocate for holistic horn reduction, prevention, and mental health strategies addressing the opioid crisis. Thus, it is quite clear that his interaction with the medical practitioners and the government makes him the best entrepreneur to fight this health menace.
Part 3: Fact Sheet
Opioids are still a severe issue in the U. S., having caused more than half a million overdose fatalities between 1999 and 2019. Notably, the crisis has social, economic, and healthcare consequences, such as the rise in the cost of healthcare, the extra load on law enforcement agencies, and the decline of productivity (Milstead & Short, 2019). Visibly, it requires political initiative and regulation to enlarge existing prevention, harm reduction, and treatment services. MAT, naloxone distribution, and any given mental support services are some of the more pressing interventions that can assist in decreasing overdose deaths and further addiction.
Nurses are deployed to the opioid crisis and deal directly with patients with opioid addiction and their families. They are on the front line fighting preventable diseases, and thus, their voices are crucial in influencing the development of policies needed to manage them (Dydyk et al., 2024). Thus, nurses are involved in agenda-setting by identifying patient needs and pushing for changes in policy to ensure that all patients can access treatment and mental health care.
Conclusion
The opioid crisis is still one of the serious threats to public health: Trump’s strategies included enforcement and treatment, while Biden aimed at harm reduction and equality. Critical organizations such as SAMHSA and CDC are responsible for combating this problem, and thus, public advocacy helps the crisis remain a policy concern. Subsequently, the role of nurses is significant because they are on the frontline as reform agents through practice and advocacy. Through the integration of these techniques and the engagement of an active champion such as Dr Vivek Murthy, progress towards efficient and continuous provision of care and legislative policy change towards curbing the epidemic can be boosted.
References
Blanco, C., Wiley, T. R. A., Lloyd, J. J., Lopez, M. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2020). America’s opioid crisis: The need for an integrated public health approach. Translational Psychiatry, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-0847-1
Dydyk, A. M., Jain, N. K., & Gupta, M. (2024, January 17). Opioid use disorder. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553166/
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning
USAGov. (2019). A | A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies | USAGov. Usa.gov. https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/a
USAGov. (2024, March 6). Branches of the U.S. Government | USAGov. Www.usa.gov. https://www.usa.gov/executive-departments
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Question 
To Prepare:
Review the agenda priorities of the current/sitting U.S. president and at least one previous presidential administration.
Tip: You can locate presidential agenda information by searching Google for your health topic and the president. For example, mental health Obama presidential agenda.
Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet – Opioid Crisis
Select an issue related to healthcare that was addressed by two U.S. presidential administrations (current and previous).
Consider how you would communicate the importance of a healthcare issue to a legislator/policymaker or a member of their staff for inclusion on an agenda.
Use your Week 1 Discussion post to help with this assignment.
The Assignment: (1- to 2-page Comparison Grid, 1-Page Analysis, and 1-page narrative) with a title page. This is an APA paper. Use 2-3 course resources and at least 2 outside resources.
Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid
Use the Agenda Comparison Grid Template found in the Learning Resources and complete the Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid based on the current/sitting U.S. president and the previous president, and their agendas related to the population health concern you selected. Be sure to address the following:
Identify and provide a brief description of the population health concern you selected.
Explain how each of the presidential administrations approached the issue.
Identify the allocation of resources that the presidents dedicated to this issue.
Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis
Using the information you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid on the template, complete the Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis portion of the template, by addressing the following:
Which administrative agency (like HHS, CDC, FDA, OHSA) would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected and why is this agency the most helpful for the issue?
How do you think your selected healthcare issue might get on the presidential agenda? How does it stay there?
An entrepreneur/champion/sponsor helps to move the issue forward. Who would you choose to be the entrepreneur/champion/sponsor (this can be a celebrity, a legislator, an agency director, or others) of the healthcare issue you selected and why would this person be a good entrepreneur/ champion/sponsor? An example is Michael J. Fox is champion for Parkinson’s disease.
Part 3: Fact Sheet
Using the information recorded on the template in Parts 1 and 2, develop a 1-page fact sheet that you could use to communicate with a policymaker/legislator or a member of their staff for this healthcare issue. Be sure to address the following:
Summarize why this healthcare issue is important and should be included in the agenda for legislation.
Justify the role of the nurse in agenda setting for healthcare issues.
Assignment document should include:
Title page
Introductory paragraph
Agenda comparison grid and analysis
Fact sheet
Summary/conclusions
References