Chamberlain College of Nursing NR506 week 4 Preparation of Presentation to An Elected Official

Chamberlain College of Nursing NR506 week 4 Preparation of Presentation to An Elected Official

Preparation of Presentation to An Elected Official

The Florida, opioid epidemic is a very relevant healthcare concern leading to drug overdose related deaths. This paper is the groundwork for the presentation of the opioid epidemic and the proposed solution to an elected official. I will discuss the population group relative to the community and go over communication techniques in order to speak with an elected official. At the end there will be a self-evaluation of the video presentation and a summary of the paper assignment.

Overview of the Health Concern and Proposed Solution

The healthcare concern for policy change is the opioid epidemic in the State of Florida. Every life loss from the growing epidemic problem of substance abuse occurring from the use of opioids, is someone’s child. This is a real crisis and I have experienced it firsthand at the loss of my 25-year-old son from a drug overdose. The population group is a variety of ages, genders and races mainly consisting of middle and high schoolers and young adults. In 2017 the rate of overdose deaths involving opioid prescriptions rose to 6.0 deaths per 100,000 persons. There was an 889 increase of opioid deaths in the state of Florida 2017 resulting in 1,272 lives lost (National Institute on Drug Abuse, [NIDA] 2019). Because this has affected my home taking my sons life, it has brought keen awareness to the epidemic problem. I want to assist in advocating for a healthcare policy change to prevent further harm to the families and loved one’s in our communities.