"They do not receive much support, including education about prescribed opioids, counseling for health problems, and opioid use."
6}Article Author:
La Presse Canadienne
Jean-Benoit Legault
Using opioids to address health problems A Canadian-wide study concluded that teenagers who have to do lack the resources to adequately manage their medication.
Health centers in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Calgary, and Vancouver participated in the study, each with a different group of young people affected by health crises and opioid overdoses.
In Montreal, a research group examined opioid prescribing. Opioids are one of the historical factors that contributed to the crisis. They met young people who were in remission from cancer, who suffered from scoliosis, or who had suffered acute trauma.
"We found a lot of help was not available for this group, including education about prescribed opioids, counseling for health problems, and opioid use," said a PhD student. and Research Coordinator Stephanie Nairn. "They face a lack of adequate information, even general information, about prescribed opioids."
Some had been dealing with health issues for a period of time, which made the lack of real or perceived information even more troubling, Nairn said.
Young people faced with such situations either rely on their own experience or try to find information online about how to manage their medications.
"They watch videos on his YouTube about opioid use," he said. "They get a lot of information from those channels."
And even if teenagers have access to doctors and nurses to answer their questions, they may not be able to talk to health professionals. is most often done in front of a parent or guardian, so you are unlikely to track them down. They don't feel like they are part of the conversation.
Teenagers told researchers they felt the double stigma of being sick and having to use opioids.
However, Nairn notes that previous research has shown that even a single dose of opioids increases the likelihood of addiction and overdose. could exacerbate the situation," he added.
Opioid use among young people has devastating effects. From 2000 to 2015, some states recorded an increase in deaths from opioid use between he 15 and her 24. From 2013 to 2017, opioid addiction increased rapidly among adolescents aged 15 to her 24 and adults aged 25 to 44.
A recent Ontario study showed a 320% increase in overdose rates among users under the age of 35 in the early stages of the 2020 pandemic. Until the mid-2000s, statistics suggested that the problem was confined to adult addicts.
On the other hand, young people still have limited access to services.
"We need a new approach," said Nairn. “To reduce the risks associated with the use of prescription opioids, young people need to be involved in policy development in the area of public health just as we have done for adults.”
This research program was developed by Patricia Conrod, a researcher at the Center de recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine and professor of psychiatry and addiction at the University of Montreal, and Sherry Stewart, professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University. Supervised.
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