Anytown faces a considerable threat of the opioid crisis, which, aggravated by the overall poor environmental factors, can affect a large number of residents. The situation in Anytown reflects the problem, which is relevant nationwide, and it has numerous negative implications, including economic ones. For instance, in 2017, the cost of opioid use disorder in the United States, as well as of fatal opioid overdose, sat at one trillion dollars (Florence et al., 2020). The only possible solution to the issue is an immediate implementation of treatment programs to help people recover from the disorder. Currently, Anytown does not have an intervention program which could be used to assist people who are addicted to opioids. Therefore, a comprehensive and evidence-based approach has to be espoused when drawing a new intervention program.
The intervention program for Anytown’s residents has to meet two basic criteria; namely, it must utilize information from recent research and include at least two possible alternatives. A study by Lee et al. (2019) is a reliable source of data on the most effective types of treatment for opioid users. Moreover, as part of the study, the researchers tested two medications, naltrexone and buprenorphine-naloxone, which can be potentially included in the program for Anytown.
It is essential to explore the main details of the study to ensure that its results can be replicated once again. Lee et al. (2019) hypothesized that extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) would not be different from sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone (BUP-NX) in terms of preventing relapse cases in the participants. It was found that both medications were equally effective and safe; forty-eight percent of participants who received XR-NTX did not have a relapse in the following twenty-four weeks, compared to forty-four percent among BUP-NX users. The study lasted for twenty-four weeks and utilized the randomized controlled trial model, and it implied monthly intramuscular injections of XR-NTX for one group of participants and self-administration of sublingual BUP-NX for another group.
All of the participants had non-prescribed opioids in the past thirty, days were at least eighteen years old, and were randomly assigned their treatment. The researchers collected data on participants weekly and after the end of the treatment at weeks twenty-eight and thirty-six by using urine and blood testing. An analysis of the collected information was conducted utilizing a Cox proportional hazards regression model and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Based on the analysis of the results, the researchers were able to interpret the findings.
The study demonstrated that naltrexone and buprenorphine-naloxone could be extremely effective in treating an opioid disorder in adults. Moreover, there are studies which have attained similar results but in a shorter period of time, namely, twelve weeks (Tanum et al., 2017). Based on the fact that there is evidence in support of the two aforementioned medications as means of containing relapsing among opioid users, they can be included in Anytown’s intervention program. Anytown’s residents will benefit greatly from the implementation of the program since they will be offered treatment options which have proved their utility.
Considering the current situation in Anytown in terms of opioid use, it becomes essential to introduce an intervention program which would help residents to counter their addiction. The study conducted by Lee et al. (2019) on the use of naltrexone and buprenorphine-naloxone as potential treatments for opioid disorder proved the effectiveness of these medications. Thus, Anytown officials have to introduce a program which would include naltrexone and buprenorphine-naloxone as viable means of reducing the number of opioid users.
References
Florence, C., Luo, F., & Rice, K. (2020). The economic burden of opioid use disorder and fatal opioid overdose in the United States, 2017. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 218(1), 1–7. Web.
Lee, J. D., Nunes, E. V., Novo, P., Bachrach, K., Bailey, G. L., Bhatt, S., Farkas, S., Fishman, M., Gauthier, P., Hodgkins, C., King, J., Lindblad, R., Liu, D., Matthews, A., May, J., Peavy, M., Ross, S., Salazar, D., Schkolnik, P. … Rotrosen, J. (2018). Comparative effectiveness of extended-release naltrexone versus buprenorphine-naloxone for opioid relapse prevention (X:BOT): A multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 391(10118), 309–318. Web.
Tanum, L., Solli, K. K., Latif, Z.-H., Benth, J. Š., Opheim, A., Sharma-Haase, K., Krajci, P. & Kunøe, N. (2017). Effectiveness of injectable extended-release naltrexone vs daily buprenorphine-naloxone for opioid dependence. JAMA Psychiatry, 74(12), 1–9.