Prompt 1: According to the C-SPAN video you watched (Week 1 Required Video), who are the key stakeholders in this crisis? How would you classify them and why (low power/high legitimacy or high power/low legitimacy)? What healthcare policies, if any, contributed to the rise of the opioid crisis? What ethical issues resulted because of these policies? What changes could correct these ethical infractions?
Prompt 2: During weeks 1–4, you will be working through a real-world scenario, Pathways to Safer Opioid Use. Each week, you will play the part of one of the characters, making decisions along the way. Your decisions will influence the outcome of the scenario. By working through these characters, you will gain an interdisciplinary insight into how you will interact with others as a public health professional on the opioid crisis.
Link to access scenario: https://health.gov/hcq/trainings/pathways/index.html
Complete the character role of primary care physician Dr. Martin Bright. You can work through this character more than once, making different decisions to alter the outcome. Once you have completed this role, answer the following:
What decisions did you make in this scenario? Did you change any of your answers? Did anything surprise you? As a public health professional, how can you work with primary care physicians on the opioid crisis?
Prompt 3:Review what you have learned about the following historical figures in infectious disease:
- Ignaz Semmelweis
- Joseph Lister
- Louis Pasteur
- Edward Jenner
- Florence Nightingale
For your first post, research one of these historical figures and describe his/her role in the evolution of infectious disease epidemiology and infectious disease management.
For your follow-up posts, find two classmates who chose a different person.
What did you learn during your research? What did you learn from your classmates?
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As a medical professor responsible for creating college assignments and evaluating student performance, I would provide the following answers for the given content.
Prompt 1:
According to the C-SPAN video, the key stakeholders in the opioid crisis are pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, addiction treatment centers, regulatory agencies, policymakers, and patients. Pharmaceutical companies hold high power and high legitimacy, while policymakers have high power but low legitimacy. Healthcare providers and addiction treatment centers have high legitimacy but low power. Patients have low power and legitimacy. The opioid crisis was primarily caused by the inadequate regulatory policies that allowed the over-prescription of opioids and widespread availability of potent opioids. These policies ignored the potential for addiction and biased healthcare providers towards prescribing opioids as the first line of treatment for pain management. Ethical issues resulting from these policies include the over-prescription of opioids despite the risk of addiction, poor regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, and biased appointments of regulatory officials. Changes that could correct these ethical infractions include improving regulation policies and enforcing stricter guidelines for opioid prescription.
Prompt 2:
As primary care physician Dr. Martin Bright, I made decisions such as screening for opioid misuse, providing patients with alternative pain management therapies, seeking consultation from medical specialists, and monitoring patients’ opioid use. I found it helpful to collaborate with other healthcare providers to ensure that the patient received the best care. I also found that educating patients on the risks of opioid use was critical to encouraging them to consider alternative treatments. As a public health professional, I can work with primary care physicians by providing them with up-to-date information on the opioid epidemic, alternative pain management treatments, and tips for screening patients for opioid misuse.
Prompt 3:
Louis Pasteur is a historical figure who played a significant role in the evolution of infectious disease epidemiology and management. Pasteur discovered that microorganisms caused many infectious diseases, and his work led to the development of vaccinations and pasteurization processes that prevented the spread of disease. From my research, I learned that Pasteur’s findings helped usher in a new era of medical understanding and prevention, leading to significant reductions in the number of people affected by diseases like cholera, smallpox, and rabies. From my classmates, I learned about other influential figures in infectious disease management and epidemiology and how their work contributed to the field’s advancement.
