Description
This comprehensive work examines the opioid epidemic through a family-centered lens, shifting the focus from how adults have been harmed by opioids to the broader impact of the drugs on children, families, and communities.
The book traces opioids complex history and unfulfilled medical promise, analyses systemic failures that fueled the current crisis, and highlights the particularly devastating impact on vulnerable populations especially children. Through comparative analysis of international approaches and historical contexts, the author identifies overlooked solutions and opportunities for meaningful interventions.
Chapters bring together the current research, including a history of opioids, their harmful effects, where advances have been made and challenges persist, and what can be done to improve safety. Practical steps for families and their healthcare providers are presented along with strategies for building resilience.
Written for healthcare professionals, policy makers, government officials, community leaders, and most importantly, families affected by opioids, Living with Opioids, offers practical strategies for families, communities, and institutions to strengthen the capacity to protect themselves, create safer home environments, and learn to coexist with these powerful substances in our society.
Introduction.- Opioids Through History: The Unfulfilled Promise.- The U.S. Opioid Epidemic: An Evolving and Systemic Crisis.- Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: Clinical Challenges and Evolving Approaches to Care.- The Hidden Crisis: How the Opioid Epidemic has Endangered America's Children.- A Systemic Crisis: Failed Responses and Overlooked Solutions.- Ground Zero: Learning to Live with Opioids in Our Homes and Communities.- Strengthening the Safety Net: Institutional Approaches to Family Protection.- What Can We Learn from Other Countries, Past Eras?.- Current Trends: An Opportunity for States to Prioritize Children.- Conclusion.
Julie R. Gaither, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Yale School of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Yale School of Public Health
100 Church Street South
New Haven, CT 06519
