Overview
Here is a breakdown of the case steps:
1. Individual review and investigation of the case. You will go through an individual
exploration of the case description below and its exhibits (readings, videos) presented in
Module 2: Community Capacity Building to gain an understanding of the case.
2. Generate a briefing Note. Your written note will be based on your thoughts on the case and
responses to the provided questions.
- The briefing note will be 4-6 pages in APA format.
- The briefing note will include an issue summary and analysis of the issue through
responses to the “Case Questions”.
- This briefing note will be submitted to the provided drop box by the specified date on the
course Critical Path.
1. Class Discussion. Post your thoughts in the discussion board and also reply to 2
comments by your peers.
Case Details
Over the last several years, opiate overdose deaths in Ontario have dramatically increased.
Overdose deaths are now 3-4 times more frequent than in 2014. There are many factors
contributing to this increase:
- Over prescription of opioid analgesics over the past decade. Oxy-Contin, an opioid
analgesic was promoted by its manufacturing company as a safe drug with a low
potential for addiction resulting in a massive increase in prescription to patients with
pain issues. The drug company’s claims were untrue. Dependent use and illegal
distribution of the drug became common.
- In 2010 Oxy-Contin was reformulated to make it hard to inject, chew or snort which
meant that illicit users could not use it. This reformulation was successful in that
illicit use of Oxy-Contin dropped dramatically. It was not successful in that users
ADMH 5013
moved to using other opioids, notably heroin or Fentanyl, both more powerful and
dangerous. Overdose deaths began to climb.
- Supervised injection sites (SIS), such as Insite in Vancouver where individuals can go
inject opiates under supervision, have been provided to reduce overdose deaths. The
previous federal government tried to close Insite and passed legislation to make other
sites very difficult to establish. The current federal government is more sympathetic
to SISs, but the Ontario provincial government much less so; it has therefore proved
difficult to set them up.
Case Questions
1) Reflect and analyze how capacity building and knowledge exchange influenced the
attempts to resolve this issue.
2) What would health promotion look like as applied to this situation?
- Who should be targeted? What should the message be?
- What methods should be used to transmit the message?
3) Using the social determinants of health (SDH), explore the impact of this situation on:
- marginalized groups
- mainstream communities
4) Discuss whether illegal action should be justified in addressing this crisis (e.g.
establishing unauthorized supervised injection sites)
I'm attaching a word document but needs to be more professional and in depth