Discussion – Public Policies and Vulnerable Population
Public health policies provide a pathway toward improving healthcare quality and safety. Greer et al. (2022) note that public health policies are extrapolations of healthcare research and evidence-based practice that create solutions to individual-level and community-based identifiable health concerns. In the resolve to improve the community wellness of the Randal County community, population-specific policies may be valuable. This paper analyzes the Randal County Community landscape and postulates public policies that may help identify vulnerable populations.
The Identified Problem and Vulnerable Population in Randal Community
The Randal County Community is none of the thriving jurisdictional areas of Amarillo, TX. Its youthful population and relatively low poverty rates, high health literacy, and low uninsurance rates make it one of the healthier communities in the vast Texas area. However, drug and alcohol addiction has been identified as an emerging health concern in the community. While all populations are affected by this menace, young adults and teenagers form the majority of the affected population. This makes teenagers and youths a vulnerable population as far as drug use, drug addiction, and alcoholism are concerned. Just like in other communities in the US, drug use is increasingly becoming a concern among younger adults and teenagers. It has been associated with quality-of-life deterioration, disruption in psychosocial wellness, and increases in modifiable morbidity and preventable deaths (Ignaszewski, 2021) warranting its address.
Public Policies Against Youth Addiction and Alcoholism
Several state, local, and federal policies have been formulated to combat addiction. These policies have a far-reaching effect on community health as they inform aspects of wellness, healthcare seeking, immunity from arrests, employee protection, and the availability of substances of abuse. These policies include the Good Samaritan laws, the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).
The Good Samaritan Laws are one of the landmark pieces of legislation that remains impactful in the pursuit of addressing addiction in the US. This legislation was enacted to lower overdose, subsequent injuries, and drug use by enhancing access to addiction treatment. This policy also modifies penalties for those seeking help from drug-related concerns and expands access to naloxone, an FDA-approved overdose prevention and reversal medication (Webster & Generes, 2024). Collectively, the Good Samaritan laws provide a pathway for life preservation among drug addicts. They improve access to care by increasing the availability of population-specific care interventions. They also lessen disparities apparent among drug addicts by ensuring that all addicts have access to the required addiction treatment and lifesaving medications. This underlines the significance of this policy among the youths and teenagers in Randal County.
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) is another pivotal policy in the race to fight drug addiction and substance use disorder. This federal policy eliminates any limit restrictions that would have otherwise been applied by health insurance plans on persons seeking care for substance use disorder and other mental health illnesses (Mulvaney-Day et al., 2019). This makes mental healthcare access and access to the treatment of substance use disorder to be available to all community members. This policy is of particular importance to alcoholics as it expands their ability to access care. It lessens apparent disparities against these groups by making care services available. This underpins its relevance to the Randal Community.
The Controlled Substance Act seeks to reduce the availability of drug substances with the potential for dependence and abuse to the general population. It categorizes various drugs into schedules and highlights handling provisions for each schedule. This categorization of medication limits access to medicines to the general public and even caregivers, thereby lowering the ease of their use or abuse (Henningfield et al., 2022). The CBS statute has an overarching role in improving healthcare as it ensures that medication that has otherwise the potential for abuse, dependence, or safety compromises to the patients cannot be accessed easily. It also lessens apparent disparity by reducing possible harm to the vulnerable population. This further underlines its significance in the Randal County. Another similar legislation is the manufacturing laws that prohibit the manufacture of prohibited controlled substances in the US. This legislation also restricts the availability of drugs with the potential to cause harm and thereby contribute to health and safety improvement fronts in Randel County.
Other noticeable policies that have shaped the fights against drug addiction and alcoholism include medical amnesty policies (MAPs) and the Americans Disability Act (ADA). MAPs encourage students to seek medical care for themselves and their friends in the wake of alcohol-related emergencies. In this respect, this policy improves access to care within the community. Likewise, the ADA protects individuals recovering from addiction against any form of workplace discrimination. In this regard, the ADA works towards improving the social wellness of individuals recovering from addiction (Webster & Generes, 2024). This underlines its significance in the Randal County community. The policy continues to shape healthcare and healthcare operationalization. In the fight against addiction and alcoholism in Randal County, formulating restrictive and protective laws targeted at improving the wellness of the affected persons and lessening access to drugs and other substances of abuse are crucial.
References
Greer, S. L., Falkenbach, M., Siciliani, L., McKee, M., Wismar, M., & Figueras, J. (2022). From health in all policies to health for all policies. The Lancet Public Health, 7(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(22)00155-4
Henningfield, J. E., Coe, M. A., Griffiths, R. R., Belouin, S. J., Berger, A., Coker, A. R., Comer, S. D., Heal, D. J., Hendricks, P. S., Nichols, C. D., Sapienza, F., Vocci, F. J., & Zia, F. Z. (2022). Psychedelic drug abuse potential assessment research for new drug applications and controlled substances act schedule. Neuropharmacology, 218, 109220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109220
Ignaszewski, M. J. (2021). The epidemiology of drug abuse. The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 61(S2). https://doi.org/10.1002/jcph.1937
Mulvaney-Day, N., Gibbons, B. J., Alikhan, S., & Karakus, M. (2019). Mental health parity and addiction equity act and the use of outpatient behavioral health services in the United States, 2005–2016. American Journal of Public Health, 109(S3). https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2019.305023
Webster, A. (2024, March 1). Substance abuse laws, acts, and legislation in the United States. American Addiction Centers. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/laws-acts-regulations#:~:text=Good%20Samaritan%20Laws%3A%20Good%20Samaritan,effects%20of%20an%20opioid%20overdose.
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Question 
Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
Read Chapters 4, 7, and 10 in your textbook, Public Health Nursing Population-centered Healthcare in the Community.
Prepare to discuss the following prompts:
Public Policies and Vulnerable Population
Identify and describe public policies that address the unique needs of the vulnerable population you are focusing on in this course. These policies may be legislative local, state, or national health policies, standards, or initiatives related to this population.
Describe how these policies aim to reduce health disparities, improve access to care, or impact key health determinants for the vulnerable population.