Substance Abuse Disorder is an ongoing, persistent issue that has affected so many lives both in the United States and around the world. Although there is constant research being done now to help prevent the rise in the disease, the reality is that there is still more funding needed to help those in need of treatment and to help educate others on the effects of the disease. In knowing this information, I decided to choose to focus my capstone on substance abuse disorder in athletes while using the option of using a grant proposal to accomplishing the goals of the capstone.
Grant proposals are important because they are organized, useful for engaging stakeholders to address public health issues, and most importantly, they can impact change within a community to improve the health outcomes of that community. In the case of athletes, many who often struggle with substance abuse disorder are not able to receive the necessary help that they need. As a result of this, many of these athletes and their families are affected by the inability to receive the proper health, thus leading to a decrease in health amongst their families. To prevent this, I hope to be able to use a grant proposal to request funding that will be essential to providing these athletes with the education needed to prevent substance abuse disorder and prevent relapse for those struggling with the disease.
Substance abuse is a common occurrence across all types of sports, at all competitive levels and many athletes feel compelled to abuse drugs and alcohol for a variety of reasons. In fact, this is even more evident because of the lavish lifestyle fostered by athletes, and even an intense pressure to perform, coupled with a possible underlying mental health disorder that all contribute to drug abuse problems for athletes today (Reardon & Creado, 2014). In addition to this, the American Public Health Association, a report released by the Trust for Americas Health in 2013 states that prescription drug abuse has quickly become a top public health concern due to the number of drug overdose deaths and a major contributing factor to the growing drug problem in the United States is the increased use and prescribing of opioid analgesics (American Public Health Association (APHA), 2019). To support this information, studies based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) showed that 12.7% of the population athletes aged 26 and over have already misused non-prescribed prescription opioids. Secondly, results have shown that theres a 2030% fall in cardiovascular activity and cause a decrease in mucus in the respiratory system due to abuse of illicit drugs and the ack of mucus can lead to atherosclerosis (Gill, 2016).
This data is significant because it showed that the consumption of alcohol and other drugs has become a concern in high-performance athletes and theres a need to prevent substance abuse disorder from occurring in athletes from the times of their primes to their later years in sports. Based on the statistics obtained, I was not surprised by the number shown that that 12.7% of the population athletes aged 26 and over have already misused non-prescribed prescription opioids. However, the low percentage does bring great implications that more studies still need to be done in order to really prevent substance abuse among athletes. Based on this information, my statement of need is that a grant proposal and funding are needed to develop intervention strategies that aim to decrease the growth of substance abuse disorder in athletes 26 and over across all sports to prevent substance abuse disorder and relapse in those affected by the disease.
References
American Public Health Association(APHA). (2019). Addressing alcohol-related harms: A population-level response. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2020/01/14/addressing-alcohol-related-harms-a-population-level-response
Gil, F., de Andrade, A. G., & Castaldelli-Maia, J. M. (2016). D 080/09540261.2016.1212821
Reardon, C. L., & Creado, S. (2014). Drug abuse in athletes. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, 5, 95-105. doi:10.2147/SAR.S53784
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