Ashford University Substance Abuse Disorder and Public Health Paper
Introduction: (can you include something like this in the introduction): Research on misuse trends have historically grouped African Americans and Caribbean blacks into a single cohort; consequently, there is no true picture of substance use disorders among African Americans. However, African Americans make up a sizable proportion of drug users. And, despite their efforts to seek treatment for their addiction issues, the outcomes are less positive (American Addiction Centers, 2020). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, no single treatment is appropriate for everyone, treatment needs will vary depending on the type of substance used and the patient’s characteristics, and treatment settings and services should be appropriate to the individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, and culture (NIDA, 2018). However, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is frequently delivered in a one-size-fits-all approach. This is especially true for the African American population seeking SUD treatment. The need for population-specific SUD treatment strategies for this population is frequently overlooked and underserved.
1. Background: This section will discuss the racial and ethnic differences in substance use, abuse, and treatment utilization
2. Historical & cultural context: This section will discuss the historical and cultural context of substance abuse disorders among marginalized communities in America.
3. Barriers to substance abuse treatment for African American: This section will explore the impact of systemic racism on African Americans drug abuse treatment, as well as what may be done to enhance treatment outcomes.
a) Rate of substance abuse in African Americans
b) Role of racism on substance abuse in African Americans
4. Substance abuse and Policing: This section will cover racially motivated policing and its correlation to substance abuse statistics.
5. This section will discuss ways to potentially improve substance treatment outcomes for African Americans (include somewhere in this section that Cost is a major factor in specialized treatment for racial/ethnic/disability (deaf and mobility accessible programs ) communities. 20 years ago there were 5 or 6 LGBTQ-specific programs in California. Now only 2 that I know of. – research that.
a) Government Initiatives
b) Treatment centers
References
American Addiction Centers. “Substance Abuse Statistics for African Americans.” American Addiction Centers, 29 July 2020, americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics/african-americans.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide. 3rd ed., Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
Shavelson, Lonny. Hooked: Five Addicts Challenge Our Misguided Drug Rehab System. The New Press, 2002.
White, William. Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America. 2nd ed., Chestnut Health Systems, 2014.
Additional sources for content to include:
https://skywoodrecovery.com/the-challenges-of-addi…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC36998…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC48726…
