Drugs Addiction in Camden - Term Paper Example

Drugs Addiction in Camden Table of Contents Introduction 2 Social Determinants of Health of Drug Users in Camden 3 Current Health and Social Care Policies in Camden 7 Contemporary Public Health Provision in Camden 9 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction In the recent phenomenon, cases of drug addiction has emerged as very common and serious in the UK, as majority of people are observed to get involved in the intake of harmful drugs such as opiate and crack cocaine at a rapid rate. According to the current statistics, it has been observed that over 380,000 people are addicted to opiates and crack cocaine. The excessive use of drugs and alcohol in the city of Camden in UK has also been facing severe problems such as breakdown of families, poverty, health deterioration and above all, increase in the crime rates. It is worth mentioning in this context that intervention programs concerning the stated issue require identification of the social, psychological, biological, genetic and environmental factors that can be identified as motivating people to grow their addiction towards drugs (Moal & Koob, 2007). As can be apparently observed, legal and administrative systems of several countries, in today’s contemporary era of have been designed to facilitate health care and social intervention policies, those have further proved quite useful in dealing with the issue of drug addiction within the society. A similar scenario can be witnessed in the context of Camden, wherein the health practitioners along with the administrative departments of the country have been striving together to design strategies that would be effective for the removal of drug addiction from the societies and promote safe and secure health practices among the addicts (The Centre for Social Justice, 2013). Correspondingly, this essay has been prepared to analyse the issue of drug addiction in the city of Camden. Correspondingly, the various social determinants of health in relation to the drug addiction has been analysed in the discussion henceforth for better understanding of the status of drug addiction in Camden currently. To be noted in this regard, Camden was listed as one of those states having highest number of drug addicts as on 2010, wherein every 100,000 of the population comprises at least 1,051 number of drug addicts (Department of Human Services, 2010). In order to make the essay more apparent, current health and social care policies of Camden have been studied with the assistance of an example from the contemporary public health provision. Social Determinants of Health of Drug Users in Camden In general, social determinants replicate its role in moulding both individual level and macro level risk elements, concentrating on the consequences of health condition. Correspondingly, as can be identified, in Camden city, the social determinants that contribute for the health condition is referred as social discrimination, income distribution, educational aspect and the cultural norms. The system of drug taking and behaviours of drug use are affected by several of these social determinants. It is in this context that social determinants of health have the full potential to shape the risks associated with drug addiction behaviour. For instance, those individual with drug addiction, who are also isolated from the mainstream society, have the probable chances of getting involved in criminal offences. Besides, it has been observed that social determinants possess the capacity of developing the living conditions, which in turn intensifies the impacts of drug using behaviour of the individual (Galea & Vlahov, 2002). It has been always evidential that the health of drug users is highly dependent on the social environment around them, which also plays a crucial role in motivating them either to practice such abuse or quite performing the same. A recent study of the demographic features of Camden entails that the majority of the population of Camden belongs to the younger generation as compared to that of the other surrounding places (refer to the graph below) (London Borough of Camden, 2012). Figure 1: Age Structure of Camden Population [Source: (London Borough of Camden, 2012)] It has also been estimated that over one third of the entire population of Camden belongs to the younger generation, and correspondingly, with the given statistics of drug abuse in the city, it can be asserted that high chances of young people getting more prone to drug abuse exists in the social paradigm of the county. In addition, it has been observed that most of the population in Camden are having poor social and economic situations. Almost half of the population of Camden are unemployed and possess a poor standard of living. Moreover, it is also evident that Camden has the lowest income distribution wherein highest major proportion of the population has their income below the poverty level. Often, it is observed that these factors contribute to the degree of proneness towards drug addiction that also acts as the barrier to the proper health needs and practices. These demographic factors can also be considered as the major causes underlying the phenomenon where the young people are getting addicted towards drugs at a rapidly augmenting rate (Legal Servicers of New Jersey, 2007). Additionally, lower income distribution and lower education system among the children are also identifiable as the key causes of drug addiction among the young generation of Camden. Emphasising a similar context, Galea & Vlahov (2002) focused on implementing a model of three factors, such as homelessness, incarceration and SES (Socio economic status) that acts as the social determinants of health policies among the drug-addicted people in Camden. To be specific, homelessness is considered one of the essential concerns for public health in the region, as most of the people are observed as living below the poverty level and with a very unequal income distribution. Apparently, drug addiction is one of the probable risks that take place among the homeless young generation of Camden. The features of homelessness impose a considerably strong influence on the betterment of the drug users due to their proper access to the health care practices and their aggressive and unusual behavioural traits towards the other people of the society. The other factor, i.e. incarceration, also contributes to the difficulties in accessing proper medication and treatment facilities by the drug users in the society (Galea & Vlahov, 2002). The rate of drug abuse, as recorded in the year 2013 in Camden can be identified from the below represented chart. Figure 2: Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions [Source: (Division of Mental Health & Addiction Services, 2013)] In the developed countries, such as the UK, it has been largely observed that drug addicted people are rather imprisoned than being provided with proper care and treatment facilities, which further contribute to their isolation from the society, making the situation more vulnerable for this particular group of people. It also reduces the effectiveness of health practices and policies designed for the people with drug addiction as these people, with the fear of being treated violently by the law enforcement bodies, attempt to hide away, secluding them from the mainstream society. In the similar context, the SES factors are considered to imply the highest chances of affecting the health of the drug users. These factors reflect to the poverty level and unemployment rates among the young generation people of Camden. Often, it is observed that the unemployed people engage in several unsocial activities, such that the crimes in the society (Galea & Vlahov, 2002). Hence, these factors, constituting of homelessness, incarceration and the socio economic status of the people, together form the social determinants of health policies and practices among the drug users in Camden. Current Health and Social Care Policies in Camden The Health and Social Care Act in the UK was formed in the year 2012 to bring necessary changes to the various activities of health and social care services such as administering, funding and commissioning the same. These Health and Social Care policies have been specially designed by the legislative authorities of the UK in order to provide all kinds of health care assistances and facilities to the public to protect them from being affected by the rising number of drug abusers in the society. These policies are also legitimate for the people with drug addiction, as it causes various kinds of social interruptions in the society. Correspondingly, it has been observed that the health and social care policies of the UK have trained the medical professionals or clinicians to provide proper care to the patients along with empowering them and showing them the utilities and needs of public health. This Act was designed by the legislative authorities of the UK as it was observed that there was increase in the need for health and social care within the society. It was also legitimate with an intention of changing the ways of commissioning the medical professionals towards the health practices and forming a new Board of National Health Service (NHS) so that the quality of care gets improved and qualified. Above all, this act has been striving on a mission towards establishing a specific regulation in order to promote effective provision for health and social care practices (Crown, 2012). In accordance to the health and social care policies concerning drug addiction, an independent charitable organization, The UK Drug Policy Commission, has been established. This commission serves the societies through the supervision of the cases of drug addiction and emphasises implementing policies and practices against drug addiction. This charitable administrative organization carries the objective of encouraging and framing of various health and social care policies through reviewing of the previous drug addiction cases. The Drug Commission have been struggling to reduce the cases of drug addiction throughout the country along with providing treatments to those who are already addicted with the harmful drugs or any other kind of harmful consumption keeping in consideration the persisting issues of social isolation and limited prevention facilities received by this particular group of subjects. The Commission has also been very strict about the formulation of policies and practices regarding health care issues of the people with drug addiction. It has the definite principle of treating the drug-addicted people with proper treatment instead of imprisoning them for their ill behaviour and therefore, isolating them from the mainstream society. In the year 2002, the legislative authorities of the UK had designed policies for the prevention of drug addiction in accordance to the four of the strategies, i.e. societies, young people, treatment procedure and the availability of the drugs in the market. These principles were implemented as their set targets for the commission in the year 2002 itself and were accumulatively named as Public Service Agreements (PSAs). In this agreement, the four principles can be explained as follows. Societies- Decreasing the rate of crime caused by the intake of drugs within the society by designing proper social strategies Young people- Decreasing the intake of banned drugs among all the young generation people, especially under the age of 25 years by making them aware of the consequences of such habits Treatment procedure- To encourage active participation of the various clinicians and medical professionals in treating drug addicts along with effectively launching programmes against the problem of drug addiction, which can be conducted by facilitating the UK Drug Policy, targeted to reduce the cases of drug addiction completely Availability- It signifies the strategies of reducing the availability of illegal and harmful drugs from within the country and implement strict rules against its From a general perspective, these guidelines can be observed to signify that the PSA agreement was designed by the Drug Commission of UK with an intention of reducing the availability of the illegal and harmful drugs throughout the city of Camden and other parts of the UK. It also aims at treating the drug-addicted patients with proper medication and treatment facilities. Contextually, designing of proper policies and strategies by the legislative authorities of the UK it has been possible to reduce the drug addiction cases in the city of Camden to a certain extent. Illustratively, it has been noted that the relative cases of drug addiction have reduced by 48% in the entire region of the UK including Camden within 2008 (Reuter & Stevens, 2007). Contemporary Public Health Provision in Camden Contemporary public health refers to the prevention of any kind of disease within a large group of people through the promotion of healthy activities and a safe and secure environment for raising the standard of living. In the similar manner, it has been observed in the earlier description of the public health provision in the UK that several government agencies had framed regulations for the removal of drug addiction cases. The UK Drug Policy Commission had also designed a strategy for the successful prevention of drug addiction cases that can be identified as Public Service Agreement (PSA) in the year 2002. In this particular programme, that has been emphasising the eradication of drug addiction cases from the societies of Camden, a special motto was designed, i.e. “Action against Illegal Drugs” (Reuter & Stevens, 2007). This agreement was specially designed by the government organizations and Treasury, which aided through the funding of the programme. Correspondingly, the PSA programme is framed three on the basis of a few major targets, which have been explained as below. Decline in the use of illegal and harmful drugs among the people of Camden, especially below the age of 25 years To include the drug addicted people into treatment through the assistance of Criminal Justice System, which will help the agencies to treat the patients with proper medication facilities Raise the number of drug users in the treatment and awareness programmes completely in the coming years One of the successful attempts of the PSA programme is that it had introduced Drug Harm Index in order to measure the amount of health effects caused by the use of the particular drug. Few of the medical professionals working for the PSA programme had reported in the earlier phase of the program that with the intake of drug, there are high chances of occurrences of social crime along with the health problems. The UK Drug Policy Commission had also provided enough support for the prevention of drug addiction cases, as it was assigned for serving of the similar purpose by the UK government. Both the PSA and UK Drug Policy Commission had served for the fulfilment of three of the major objectives and made the entire programme intervention successful. Those three objectives can be accounted as follows: Make the general public, media personnel and political organizations understand about the policies of drug intake and its adverse effects Deliver objective-oriented study of drug policy in the entire region of the UK, especially Camden, as it is one of the city with the highest population of drug users Make the public, media and political organizations aware of the harm of drug abuse (Reuter & Stevens, 2007) Thus, the example of contemporary public health provision, concentrating on PSA in Camden had been found to work properly in adherence to the regulations framed by the legislative bodies of the region. Due to the various activities conducted for the prevention of drug addiction in Camden by PSA and UK Drug Policy Commission, the rate of drug addiction cases has reduced to a considerable extent. Notably, people who had been involved in the drug addiction cases had entered into the medication and treatment procedures with the assistance of the clinicians and medical professionals appointed by the PSA personnel (Reuter & Stevens, 2007). It has also been apparently observed that the personnel of PSA and UK Drug Policy have been making drug addicts and the segment prone to such abusive behaviours are made aware of the harmful effects of drugs through the illustration of evidence based incidents of the past days. They believe that the narration of these past evidences will help the drug addicted patients to understand its harmful effects and undergo treatment accordingly, so that they can recover sooner and lead a healthier life, returning to the mainstream society (Brownson & et. al., 1999). Conclusion From the above discussion and analysis, it can be ascertained that the city of Camden has been going through many social and economic factors that have been affecting its demographic features substantially. The most important factors that have been affecting the demographics of Camden is the uneven income distribution, poverty level, major population belonging to young age and also the unemployment level of the region. All these factors have led the majority of the population in Camden to get involved in various abusive activities such as drug addiction and social crimes as well. Correspondingly, it has been observed that at often instances, people who are involved in drug abuse are more prone to get engaged in social crimes, being homeless and are mostly deprived of the employment facilities. Considering all these health and social inequalities, the UK government has laid down different policies and procedures to prevent drug addiction cases throughout the region. The Health and Social Care Act was accordingly enacted in the year 2012 with an intention to reduce the drug addiction cases and provide proper medication and treatment facilities to the patients. Several contemporary public health interventions were also held in the region for the eradication of drug abuse problems. The program was also successful in making a large percentage of the population participate in the prevention programmes targeted to drug abuse. Based on these findings concerning the issue of drug abuse in the modern society, it can be stated as suggestive that all-inclusive public health programmes can be highly successful in dealing with similar kind of social factors, wherein imposition of laws might impose negative impacts and generating awareness may emerge as a prime tool for prevention. Such programmes, rather than focusing on penalising the drug addicts should focus on treating them with effective and useful medication facilities and care, guided by the mission to bring them back to the mainstream society. Nevertheless, when concerning the current scenario in Camden, it can be observed that legislative agencies have been operating on the basis of various strict rules and regulations for the prevention of drug abuse, which resulted towards the decline of the drug abuse cases in the city of Camden. References Brownson, R. C. & et. al., 1999. Evidence-Based Decision Making in Public Health. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 86-97. Crown, 2012. Health and Social Care Act 2012. Regulation of Health and Adult Social Care Services. [Online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/7/notes/division/3 [Accessed July 5, 2014]. Department of Human Services, 2010. New Jersey Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment. Substance Abuse Overview. [Online] Available at: http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/das/news/Substance%20Overview/Cam-11.pdf [Accessed July 5, 2014]. Division of Mental Health & Addiction Services, 2013. New Jersey Chartbook of Substance Abuse Related Social Indicators. Camden County. [Online] Available at: http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/das/news/reports/epidemiological/Camden_County_Chartbook_2013.pdf [Accessed July 5, 2014]. Galea, S. & Vlahov, D., 2002. Social Determinants and the Health of Drug Users: Socioeconomic Status, Homelessness, and Incarceration. Public Health Reports, Vol. 117, No. 1, pp. 135-145. Legal Servicers of New Jersey, 2007. Poverty in the City of Camden. Poverty Research Institute, pp. 1-25. London Borough of Camden, 2012. 2011 Census Key Statistics and Quick Statistics for Camden. First analysis of the Census data published on 11 December 2012. Moal, M. L. & Koob, G. F., 2007. Drug Addiction: Pathways to the Disease and Pathophysiological Perspectives. European Neuropsychopharmacology, Vol. 17, pp. 377-393. Reuter, P. & Stevens, A., 2007. An Analysis of UK Drug Policy. UK Drug Policy Commission. The Centre for Social Justice, 2013. Exposing the Depth of Britain’s Drug and Alcohol Problem. Breakthrough Britain II, pp. 1-105. Read More