Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a proposal to the potential funder, the Department of Health and Human Services. This is the second of two opportunities for you to submit a rough draft of the critical elements in the final project. In Milestone One, you introduced the social problem you have chosen, described the variables and determinants related to the problem, and outlined how you would approach limiting your biases. This assignment should represent your best effort to meet the critical elements below. Once you submit this assignment, you will receive feedback from your instructor. It is imperative that you review and understand this feedback before you implement it into your final draft. By completing this assignment you demonstrate the following skills employers in the field may be looking for:
- Cultural awareness when interacting with others
- Research and synthesis of information
- Data analysis
- Written communication
- Critical thinking
- Problem analysis and problem solving
- Work independently
As you review your sources, make sure that they are current. A good rule of thumb is that the source should be published within the past 10 years, in most cases. Of course, if the source provides insight into current social realities, there are good reasons why it is an authoritative source. W. E. B. DuBois, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and many classical theorists provide insight into our current social realities. These insights into race and racism, competition for resources, and community are relevant today. If it is an empirical analysis (i.e., if it is an analysis working with data), then the best rule of thumb is that the research be as current as possible.
Prompt
You will address the critical elements listed below, which represent the last two sections of your final project. For this milestone your work will be graded using the rubric below. For your final submission in Module Seven your work will be graded using the rubric found in the Final Project guidelines and rubric document. The final project rubric adds a fourth column to the rubric, which adds the expectation of a higher level of comprehension and writing. Therefore, if you receive a score satisfactory to you on your milestone assignments you will be expected to address any feedback from your instructor, as well as adding the depth asked for in the exemplary column in the Final Project rubric when you submit your final project.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
- Global Impact: So that the funder can understand the significance of the social problem, you will explain the local and global impacts using a sociological perspective.
- Provide an example of how the social problem manifests itself on a local as well as global scale. In what other country or countries does this problem present itself and how?
- Compare and contrast the existence of the problem locally versus globally. How is the way the problem exists locally similar to or different from the way it exists globally?
- Based on your comparison of the local and global manifestations of the social issue, what conclusions can you draw about the influence of globalization on this specific social issue? How similar or different are the social issues and their repercussions, and what does that mean in relation to the impact of globalization?
- Select a key sociological theoretical perspective that best explains why there are similarities and differences in how the social issue presents on a local and global scale, justifying your selection. Base your analysis on one of the three key sociological perspectives covered in Module Two’s journal assignment.
- Apply your selected theoretical perspective to explain why there are similarities and differences in how the social issue presents on a local and global scale.
- Potential Solution
- Compare at least one successful attempted solution with at least one attempted unsuccessful solution to the problem. From your comparison, why did the successful solution succeed, and why did the unsuccessful solution fail? Support your findings with resources from your own research.
- Based on your previous research, what suggestion do you have for responding to the identified social issue? Specifically, what do you suggest as an action in responding to the social issue?
- Explain why your suggestion is likely to be successful, substantiating with research. Explain how the suggestion takes into account your previous research of attempted solutions and identified best practices.
What to Submit
Milestone Two must be 2–3 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in APA format. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Include at least 1–2 references cited in APA format.
Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Local Communities
Jasmine Eaddy
SNHU
SOC 213
Prof. Grice
7/20/2024
Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Local Communities
The US and local opioid crisis is the societal issue this proposal addresses. The opioid crisis is the rise in opioid use disorders, overdose, and deaths from heroin, prescription medications, and synthetic opioids like fentanyl (Rudd, 2020). Its effects on health, social and economic stability, and society's security make it contemporary. The opioid problem has increased addiction, overdose deaths, and health facility and police overcrowding in my neighbourhood.
Problem Description
Influential Social Variables and Determinants:
Socioeconomic position, availability and closeness to opioids, psychologic/mental health, and social environment are significant social determinants that led to opioid usage. Poverty, unemployment, and inadequate education are vulnerability factors for opioid use. Studies show that socially poor persons experience chronic pain and limited access to healthcare, which leads to opioid prescription and misuse (Dowell et al., 2022). Today's society's opiate availability and prescriptions from doctors are another cause. Self-medication and psychological problems such depression, anxiety, and PTSD are common among opiate users. Social context, such as family unfriendliness, peer influence, and other communal vices, also explains opiate abuse.
Local Influence
These social variables and determinants are analysed locally as follows. Populations with significant unemployment, job scarcity, and poverty have higher rates of substance addiction, especially opioids. Opioids are easily prescribed at neighbouring pharmacies and clinics, which has boosted addiction. It may be because mental health services are inadequate or inaccessible. Lack of social support and greater family breakdowns have also exacerbated the crisis. Policy measures in regions with strong local networks and high-quality communal programmes have reduced opioid addiction and dependence.
Global Influence
Social characteristics and determinants that drive opioid usage worldwide are similar but may vary. Fentanyl, a cheaper synthetic opioid, is illegally made and marketed in several nations, increasing its use. Poverty, lack of health care, and alcohol and drug treatment facilities are driving the global epidemic. Depression and substance use disorders, whether moderate or severe, are linked globally and affect stigmatisation and access to care (Earnshaw, 2020). In societies where mental health and substance dependency are not social vices, people can get treatment when they need it.
Local vs. Global Influences:
There are common and distinct socioeconomic elements and drivers that affect the opioid crisis locally and globally. Community factors like prescription opioids and demography contribute to the occurrences. Similar factors exist internationally, although opioid delivery, like synthetic opioids, may vary (Phillips et al., 2020). Prescription opioid abuse is a major issue in the US and Canada, while synthetic opioids may be the problem in Asia and Europe. Economic hardships, psychological illnesses, and societal situations all contribute to opiate addiction.
Approach
Public Discourse and Stereotypes
Society tends to sympathize as well stigmatize those who are affected by opioids and this makes it a challenge to address the problem. Society's and the public's preconceptions, prejudices, and presumptions may hamper opioid management. Misconceptions hinder policymaking to help affected people and promote prejudice and contempt. If opioid use disorders are solely significant to low-income or rural populations, then rich or urban residents may not receive enough support. When building tactics for a varied population, these stereotypical beliefs must be considered.
Personal Biases and Assumptions
I may have formed biases about "opioid addicts" because to films and society. I may recommend remedies that blame perpetrators and ignore other minor affected populations or systemic reasons like pharmaceutical company influence and healthcare legislation due to these biases. Recognising and recognising these biases is crucial when the inquiry expands beyond one element of the opioid issue. This is why casting light on such prejudices and simply mentioning them can provide one a more fair view of the epidemic and how it has affected society.
Using Sociological Theory to Limit Biases
Sociological theories like structural functionalism and conflict theory will be used to analyse the opioid crisis without bias. I can use structural functionalism to determine the contributions of different society structures to the problem by studying health care systems, economic activities, and family practices. Conflict theory can explain how asymmetrical power bases affect the pandemic through resource distribution. These ideas allow me to objectively assess the role of corporate activities and budgetary policies of giant pharmaceutical enterprises in the opioid problem without ethnocentrism.
References
Dowell, D., Ragan, K., Jones, C., Baldwin, G., & Chou, R. (2022). CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain — United States, 2022. MMWR. Recommendations and Reports, 71(3), 1–95. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.rr7103a1
Earnshaw, V. A. (2020). Stigma and substance use disorders: A clinical, research, and advocacy agenda. American Psychologist, 75(9), 1300–1311. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000744
Phillips, J. K., Ford, M. A., & Bonnie, R. J. (2020). Evidence on Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Epidemic. Nih.gov; National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK458653/
Rudd , R. A. (2020). Increases in Drug and Opioid Overdose Deaths — United States, 2000–2014. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6450a3.htm
