Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grids

Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief Assignment Template for Part 1 and Part 2

Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid

Use this Agenda Comparison Grid to document information about the population health/healthcare issue your selected and the presidential agendas. By completing this grid, you will develop a more in depth understanding of your selected issue and how you might position it politically based on the presidential agendas.

You will use the information in the Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid to complete the remaining Part 2 and Part 3 of your Assignment.

Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis

Using the information you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid, complete the following to document information about the population health/healthcare issue your selected

Agenda Comparison Grid Template

Consumptions of heroin and opium have been the main concern in the United States of America as there has been a massive increase in the usage of these hard drugs among the patients. The population concern of the government is to decrease the consumption of tobacco, alcohol as well as a decrease in smoking so as to positively affect healthcare. This is aimed to increase the healthy diet so as to improve the healthcare conditions of the patients (Hook, 2018).

Some of the factors that may contribute to the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and smoking among the patients may be as parental difficulties and social problems that result in the use of these drugs. There emotional problems may also influence one to start using these drugs and substances. Peer pressure among the youths also has a large impact on the youths who uses these drugs and substances. Addiction has been the major factor that is proving so hard for the patients to quit the use of this substance abuse. Some of the cultural and social factors put a lot of patients at a greater risk as poverty and lack of education and unemployment which provides a stressful environment increases the risk (Realuyo, 2019).

Different presidents have had different agendas in their administration to resolve this problem. The main agenda of the current president (Donald Trump) was to decrease the consumption of tobacco and opium to positively affect healthcare care. This would lead to an increase in the healthy diet as it would improve the healthcare conditions of the patients. There have been little efforts that’s president Trump has put when it comes to this concern, the president has not allocated enough finance and other resources as promised that should be used in tackling this issue, however, the president allocated some funds amounting to around $3billion that was to be used for addiction treatments which is still not sufficient for the United States government (Shekarchizadeh, 2019).

Just after president Trump took his office, he was hit with drug overdose deaths. The president approached these actions with more talks and little actions as he took minor steps in addressing the issue. However, the president allocated some funds that were to be used for addiction treatments which are still not sufficient for the United States government. This has not been a success as compared to the previous president Barrack Obama and George Bush who put some efforts in escalating the fight against the prescription opioid and heroin epidemics. President Obama and Bush also allocated some financial support and resources which was to be used to treat those who wanted the treatments (Khami, 2019).

The previous agencies would be the best and give enough support in addressing these health care issues. Implementing a law against this health care issue would be the best appropriate way that may be used to keep this agenda on both the current and previous administration as this also would make sure that the agenda stays in motion (Virtanen, 2019).

References

Hook, S. (2018). Analysis of Opioid Hospitalizations in Michigan Counties.

Realuyo, C. B. (2019). The New Opium War: A National Emergency. Prism: a Journal of the Center for Complex Operations, 8(1), 132-142.

Shekarchizadeh, H., Khami, M. R., Mohebbi, S. Z., Ekhtiari, H., & Virtanen, J. I. (2019). Oral health status and its determinants among opiate dependents: a cross-sectional study. BMC oral health, 19(1), 5.

Response by my colleague to my post

Unfortunately, the issue of drug addiction is very challenging and has been difficult for many Presidents to successfully manage. The war on drugs has been proven to be rather ineffective, mostly targeting minorities and leading to mass incarceration. Currently, there are medications such as suboxone and methadone that help addicts get off of the more dangerous drugs. It also helps deter them from committing crimes to obtain the drugs. These medications are funded by Insurance and state funded programs such as Medicaid. Do you think that expanding the access to these medications can create an impact on the opioid epidemic? Do you have any thoughts on what you would do if given the opportunity to reduce the amount of overdoses we are experiencing in his country? Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grids