Abuse of prescription medications has
become an immense problem within many communities today. It is widely accepted
that alternative therapies such as acupressure can be a suitable treatment for
chronic pain. Some other benefits of acupressure include proven effectiveness,
it is relatively easy to learn, side effects are substantially lower than pain
medications, and it is free to do at home. Therefore collaboration with other
health professionals who manage pain is a possible public health intervention.
According to the American Journal of Public Health, “One
of the most promising practice-based approaches in public health
is the development of interorganizational partnerships as a way to attain
resources, share knowledge, and thus improve population health outcomes” (Varda, Shoup, & Miller, 2012). It would
then be proposed that the community health agency acquire more information
about local acupuncture therapists and encourage a partnership between them and
physical medicine physicians. In addition, I would recommend the public health facility contain educational pamphlets for those clients who are interested. This would be beneficial to population outcomes as they are
related to prescription drug overuse/abuse and contribute to the overall goal
of public health.
Reference
Varda, D., Shoup, J., Miller, S. (March 2012). A systematic review of collaboration and network research in the public affairs literature: Implications for public health practice and research, 102(3).
I find this to be a very interesting topic that I would love to learn more about. I do believe that it is important for providers to utilize recognized alternative medicine opportunities for patients, to make them aware of options that could be beneficial to their pain relief and possibly at a lower cost. As I was reading your post, I noticed you referred to acupuncture as being a widely accepted alternative medicine and it made me want to look more into the truth of that statement because I wondered why more physical medicine physicians would choose not to collaborate with local acupuncture therapists if it was an accepted practice for pain relief. I did find in an article titled “Implementation of outcome measures in a complementary and alternative medicine clinic: evidence of decreased pain and improved quality of life”, that significant pain reductions were found in patients who took advantage of using acupuncture and other alternative medicine such as chiropractic and neuropathy treatments (Secor, et al, 2004). I now believe it is more crucial than ever for PHN’s to work together to collaborate a way to discontinue people’s dependence on prescription drugs. Unfortunately it does not surprise me to believe that the lack of partnership could be contributed by the pharmaceutical industries and the capitalistic avenues of the United States’ healthcare policies. That is why it is important for nurses to be the patient advocate first and foremost. To collaborate together would open new possibilities to the public on issues of the abuse of prescriptions drugs that would hopefully promote a healthier environment in the community.
ReplyDeleteSecor, E. r., Blumberg, J., Markow, M., MacKenzie, J., & Thrall, R. (2004). Implementation of outcome measures in a complementary and alternative medicine clinic: evidence of decreased pain and improved quality of life. Journal Of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 10(3), 506-513. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.uwec.edu/10.1089/1075553041323704