Community Strategic Plan Part B; Strategic Plan

Community Strategic Plan Part B; Strategic Plan

Introduction

In part A of my community strategic plan, I discussed the need for the government to invest in community health to improve the health of the citizens massively. The community had various resources that it would tap to create community awareness on disease control and prevention. For instance, the community sufficiently trained community health practitioners who would help in enlightening the community members. In the United States of America, various community health organizations are mandated to create community awareness. They include; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) (Han et.al. 2017). Similarly, in other parts of the world like Africa, community health bodies that sensitize the public include Africa Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). Such bodies have achieved greater miles in creating customer awareness in matters concerning disease control and prevention.

In part B of the community strategic plan, I will be focusing on the issue of reducing drug experimentation among young adults. The curiosity of young adults is what drives them in testing substances for the first time. Peer pressure also drives young adults into drug experimentation, and for the majority of them, it becomes difficult to stop the habit. Consequently, they end up becoming drug addicts and traffickers. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2014 9.9 % of young adults specifically, those attending full-time education in the United States tested alcohol for the first time, and 8.9 % of part-time college students who were young adults tested alcohol for the first time, 3.8% of the young adults attending part-time education tested illicit drugs for the first time (Oh et.al. 2017). The above figures are alarming and show that drug experimentation among young adults cannot be downplayed. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the cost of drug experimentation in the United States by 2013 was 78.5 billion US Dollars, both in terms of lost productivity and rehabilitation (Oh, 2017).

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Advance practices roles and management strategies that affect change in the community level

Some practice roles have caused increased cases of drug experimentation among young adults. One of the practice roles in the community is drug-consuming parents. Some of the young adults are brought up in families whose parents are drug addicts. Consequently, such young adults keep on admiring what their parents are doing more so from their tender age. When they become young adults, they are eager to know what was being consumed by their parents. As a result, they end up testing drugs for the first time. Additionally, young adults engage in drug experimentation due to cases of depression, disorders as a result of stress and social anxiety (Alex, 2019). Hence, they believe that by tasting a certain drug, it may help ease their conditions. Stress is one of the key reasons for drug experimentation among young adults. Other young adults engage in drug experimentation as a result of peer pressure. They want to do what others are doing and feel how others are feeling.

The community resources that affect drug experimentation in the United States

The United States is a developed country; hence it is well endowed with various resources. The majority of the citizens are rich, and as a result, they operate a number of alcohol selling outlets. The wide availability of alcohol distribution outlets has exposed the majority of young adults to alcohol experimentation. Their families still support young adults who are not yet financially stable. Majority of the college students are financially supported by their parents, making them have adequate funds. The availability of funds among college students makes them experiment with drugs. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) revealed that the majority of young adults experiment drugs for the first time while they are on campus (Oh et.al. 2017). The above factors have negatively affected young adults.

On the other hand, the National Institute of Drug Abuse has been on the forefront educating the young adults on the consequences of drug experimentation, and this has been achieved through public campaigns and campaigns in learning institutions, specifically in colleges and universities. Additionally, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have been holding public rallies at the community level to create awareness on drug experimentation among young adults (Han et.al. 2017). The government has also established various rehabilitation centers to help young adults recover from the negative effects of drug experimentation.

Community changes that help to reduce drug experimentation among young adults

Community learning institutions have adopted to facilitate education on the effects of drug experimentation on pupils and students to prevent adverse effects when they become young adults. Religious institutions have also taken drug experimentation among young adults as a challenge and an issue of community concern. Consequently, the majority of the churches hold youth seminars to sensitize the youth on drug experimentation. The government has realized such efforts and opted to provide banners containing some of the adverse effects of testing drugs (Pénzes et.al. 2018).

The strategic plan that can be used to reduce drug experimentation among young adults

Drug experimentation is becoming an issue of concern among many communities, and it is a call-awakening to the society to help the young adults cease from the vice. I think the best strategy that can help counter the habit is through effective public sensitization. Charity begins at home, and hence the public education should emanate from the family level. Parents or guardians should actively engage in educating their children on the negative impacts of drug experimentation. Pénzes et.al. (2017), states that if children grow knowing that drug experimentation is a bad habit, the community will have limited cases of drug experimentation. Additionally, parents should stop taking drugs in the presence of their children to prevent instances of drug testing when the children become young adults. Children learn what they see from their parents or guardians. Aged adults should also assume the responsibility of enlightening young adults about the consequences of drug testing, and by this, the aged adults should be good role models.

Conclusion

Drug experimentation is increasing among young adults, and if no proper measures are in place, the young adults will end up being drug addicts and drug traffickers. As a result, both the government and the community should maximize on creating public awareness. And by doing so, the community and the nation at large will be assured of a reliable and responsible future generation.

References

Han, B., Compton, W. M., Blanco, C., Crane, E., Lee, J., & Jones, C. M. (2017). Prescription opioid use, misuse, and use disorders in US adults: 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Annals of internal medicine, 167(5), 293-301.

Oh, S., Gonzalez, J. M. R., Salas-Wright, C. P., Vaughn, M. G., & DiNitto, D. M. (2017). Prevalence and correlates of alcohol and tobacco use among pregnant women in the United States: Evidence from the NSDUH 2005–2014. Preventive medicine, 97, 93-99.

Sanchez-Roige, S., Fontanillas, P., Elson, S. L., Gray, J. C., de Wit, H., MacKillop, J., & Palmer, Alex, A. (2019). Genome-wide association studies of impulsive personality traits (BIS-11 and UPPS-P) and drug experimentation in up to 22,861 adult research participants identify loci in the CACNA1I and CADM2 genes. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(13), 2562-2572.

Pénzes, M., Foley, K. L., Nădășan, V., Paulik, E., Ábrám, Z., & Urbán, R. (2018). Bidirectional associations of e-cigarette, conventional cigarettes, and waterpipe experimentation among adolescents: a cross-lagged model. Addictive behaviors, 80, 59-64.