Personal Conclusions

G Cabrera: While doing this job, I found out a couple of things: the heroin epidemic never was overcome and society has a lot more power than what is granted for. The heroin epidemic was in the background after the 60’s decade, since it was per say controlled but was never eradicated fully. This is because similar medications to heroin where giving as a treatment for pain management. The upbringing of the opioid epidemic is an extreme case of an out of control epidemic, which is not seen in the US since the vaccines were implemented compulsory. Since most of the old epidemics consisted in killing viruses and bacteria, a new method to fight this type of epidemic has been issued since it is not cause by either of them (virus or bacteria). Even though at first it was battled with justice, it was noticed that this was a wrong way to face the illness. This is where society has to step up. The first mere advances to overcoming the epidemic are brought by people looking for a change in their communities. By doing this and showing results, their governments ensued policies that made somewhat easier their projects and made policies to make a constant progress of some kind. Even though, at some level, society is depreciate at some extent by some governments; it has the power  to overcome a lot of issues by itself, and this epidemic is an example of it. The only challenge that society has is to keep focus on the task at hand.

P Cruz: The growing opioid epidemic is concerning. What started off as a mild problem has turned into a socio-economic issue that impacts those closest to us silently. Looking for epidemiological statistics regarding opioid abuse and overdoses in Puerto Rico was very difficult and unfruitful. The government of Puerto Rico needs to take this problem seriously, taking legislative measures to ensure the safety of their citizens. Even though Narcotics Anonymous is a good and free option for opioid abusers and addicts, the accessibility to pharmacological treatments is very poor. Measures discussed in papers such as providing naloxone to relatives of known and previously treated opioid abusers seemed like a very effective option for preventing deaths due to overdoses. I’m aware that ASSMCA trained professionals such as paramedics and policemen recently to assess during opioid overdoses, but sometimes these people can’t arrive on time. Health insurance companies covering treatments would also be a good option to prevent drug abuse and overdoses, helping those that don’t have the income to cover such expensive options. Opioid abuse is a public health matter that needs to be taken more seriously.

A Colón: Through the process of the making of this blog, this author has managed to learn several important facts involved in our current opioid epidemic. I believe this epidemic is in great part caused by the health institutions themselves and their wanting to please the customer, being that this has caused many physicians and other health professionals to prescribe opioids unnecessarily. Many times drug screenings may be necessary and they’re not available at a moment’s notice due to lack of equipment or the physician’s own careless attitude. I’ve learned that wanting to please the patient has caused medical treatments to rely on opioids where they’re not necessary and may even be more hazardous to the patient’s health. In order to stop or lessen this opioid epidemic health institutions and their employees must begin to treat patients more responsibly and use medications backed up by science, not just rely on pain relievers that in the end might worsen the patient’s health and lifestyle.

D Guevara: Personally with this blog I learned many things. First off, Puerto Rico needs a more efficient way of complying all statistical information and a way to make this information public to all who need it. Whether for governmental reasons or for Public Health betterment, this type of study is key to understanding a worldwide epidemic. I think that the fact that the US has more resources leads to them being able to carry out more extensive research for a more significant study, that covers all the bases specifically. With the opioid epidemic, I would say that even though statistics show a reduction in usage from the beginning of the century, overdose statistics are still escalating quickly. More active action is needed to get to the true roots of the problem.

C Morfi: The opioid crisis has been progressing quickly yet it has been thoroughly documented to be studied from a statistical perspective. Being able to analyze the data and obtain trends and other useful data is what will aid in deciphering what our next steps will be to help those suffering due to it. And even though we have the data, we can’t forget that each new subject added to the data is an individual who is suffering and deserves a better standard in life. Also, it is highly worrisome how Puerto Rico lacks in statistics and data even though there’s clearly not a lack of people with opioid use dependence. Hopefully soon we will begin to document and analyze based on their experiences to get a better understanding as to what and how they should be treated.