The windshield survey identified a significant problem of homeless people in Pottsville, the state of Pennsylvania. In addition, the underdeveloped health care system and sheltering structures pose a threat for the citizens of the town. To be more precise, it was concluded that most unaccommodated people tend to develop addictions to drugs faster, which undoubtedly leads to mental health issues that should be tackled in appropriate institutions. Overall, the tobacco usage among the homeless poses a question of the urgent need to advance a nursing intervention plan to assist addicts in recovering.
To begin with, it seems significant to analyze the primary reasons that lead to the development of any addiction to understand how the problem in Pottsville can be effectively addressed. National Institute on Drug Abuse (2021) mentions that people with mental disorders are more likely to experience a desire to use drugs and other addictive substances. Thus, considering that the windshield survey concluded that many citizens of Pottsville suffer from unemployment and homelessness, it seems reasonable to claim that these factors may negatively impact personal self-esteem. Severed self-respect toward oneself can be the reason for other mental disorders, such as anxiety, stress, and depression (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). Undoubtedly, the environment of the surrounding area, like economic status, progressive health care system, and quality of life, may provoke a person to use tobacco to avoid pressure and stress (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). The underdeveloped economic aspect of Pottsville and generally unprogressive city structure may upset and disturb the citizens, considering that they realize the lack of opportunities for the development of a better life. These are, however, not the only reasons that may considerably increase the likelihood of tobacco abuse; the genetic predisposition may also impact the development of the addiction. Therefore, it seems crucial to minimize the influence of the aspects mentioned above on the citizens of Pottsville to reduce the number of addicts.
Still, it is vital to realize the repercussions that tobacco abuse yields and how it can be treated within the healthcare institutions of the town. The studies confirm that the drug’s usage yields chemical messengers, dopamine, that “affects the brain’s reward circuit” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021, line 5). Additionally, this so-called circuit is responsible for an individual’s tendency to repeat the same behavior, meaning using tobacco over and over again.
It poses an issue of a no-win situation as the whole process is constantly repeating, complicating the treatment of addicts. National Institute on Drug Abuse (2021) emphasizes the severity of drugs’ impact on a person’s mental health. For instance, people become easily irritated, sometimes even violent, which leads to them not being able to control their own actions (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). Naturally, such behavior is likely to harm the environment of Pottsville and impact the citizens since the risk of them being negatively related to the addicts is growing every day. Long-term tobacco abuse also yields the following drawbacks: clouded judgment, flawed decision-making, and memory loss (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). By and whole, this leads to a person behaving unpredictably without remembering one’s own misdeeds. In turn, they do not understand why they should stop using tobacco as they do not regard it as a genuinely significant problem.
Nevertheless, substance abuse treatment can raise numerous ethical concerns for the addicts and healthcare institutions, as well as to the citizens of Pottsville. As stated, the homeless people who are addicted to tobacco may not consider it a problem, posing a question of the treatment’s beneficence (De Chesnay & Anderson, 2016). It should be clearly understood whether the reduction of the problems yields advantages for hospitals, the homeless, or residents of the town. Clearly, reducing the number of addicts benefits three parties: people who suffer from tobacco abuse avert lethal repercussions of the usage, and the doctors fulfilling their medical oaths as they help them. As for the citizens, they are less likely to experience the uncontrolled behavior of the addicts in their daily lives, which ultimately enhances the quality of life in Pottsville.
In addition, the nursing intervention plan may yield the concern of fidelity. It is vital that the healthcare representatives form a genuine relationship with the patients and are completely honest with them about their conditions and further treatment. However, it seems significant to assist the addicts in understanding the severity of tobacco usage and the way it impacts not only their health but the people who surround them (De Chesnay & Anderson, 2016). Besides, the possible side effects of addiction treatment should be explained to the patient before the actual process so that the homeless will be thoroughly familiar with what can happen to them on their journey to live a healthy life.
The addiction treatment may lead to the raised concern of nonmaleficence, considering that it is vital to achieve outstanding treatment results without actually hurting a patient. Therefore, the physicians are to focus on the outcome and not the duration of the treatment process. Inadequate nursing intervention plans can be useless as the addicts may return to their old habits and continue their tobacco abuse (Husted et al., 2015). Overall, homeless people should be treated with respect and patience to reach exceptional results (Mcenroe-Petitte, 2020). The reduction of their impact on the citizens of Pottsville and assisting them in averting lethal consequences of tobacco usage.
Having analyzed the ethical concerns that might be encountered and the need for treating the tobacco addicts in Pottsville, it seems possible to develop an adequate nursing intervention plan. The first and foremost responsibility to be fulfilled is to contact Servant to All located in Schuylkill County and raise funds to afford the treatment of the homeless addicts from tobacco abuse. The organization is known for its accomplishments in helping people by providing them with housing, food, clothes, and healthcare services. Furthermore, Servant to All may assist in locating the homeless addicts and seeking shelter for them so that they can freely recover from the treatment at their own places (Pratt et al., 2019). When identified, the individuals will be connected with emergency shelter, long-term housing, and critical services (in case they experience side effects of the treatment or mental disorders due to a withdrawal).
Indeed, it is vital to exclude the patients in another wing of the healthcare institutions so that the healthcare representatives can effectively operate and focus on the set goal for this project. Before starting the treatment process, the nurses should contact the patients’ families to confirm further interventions. Consequently, the addicts should be informed of their conditions and the need for treatment to avoid legal consequences of tobacco abuse. Still, the physicians should find an approach to every individual to make sure that fruitful cooperation can be formed with them, ultimately leading to recovery from a withdrawal.
Another aspect to consider is that every patient should undergo a complete analysis of their health to indicate any diseases that might complicate the recovery or even worsen the health condition during the treatment process. Naturally, the chosen treatment should be beneficial for individuals based on their health measurements and designed to ultimately enhance their physical and mental health. With the help of Servants to All, the raised funds should be allocated to purchase the required and high-quality medicaments for the people. Overall, the patients must be treated with patience, considering that the repercussions of tobacco abuse may somehow complicate the communication and the decision-making process with the homeless.
To sum up, the paper’s focus on the origin of the addiction, its impacts on the addict’s health, and surroundings assisted in designing the most effective treatment plan. Besides, the consideration of the local environment of Pottsville led to the identification of the risks that may occur due to the high number of homeless people who suffer from tobacco addiction. Thus, the developed nursing intervention plan outlined the steps that should be taken to achieve the following: provide homeless people with shelters once they finish their treatments and purchase medicaments to assist the addicts in recovering from their addiction. Besides, the type of behavior that the healthcare representatives should opt for was determined based on the mental disorders that the addicts might experience to identify the way of forming a fruitful collaboration with them.
References
De Chesnay, M., & Anderson, B. A. (2016). Caring for the vulnerable: Perspectives in nursing theory, practice, and research (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Husted, G.L., Husted, J.H., Scotto, C. J., & Wolf, K.M. (2015). Bioethical decision making in nursing (5th ed.). NY: Springer Publishing.
Mcenroe-Petitte, D. (2020). Caring for patients who are homeless : Nursing2021. LWW. Web.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021). Understanding drug use and addiction. Web.
Pratt, R., Pernat, C., Kerandi, L., Kmiecik, A., Joseph, A., Everson Rose, S., A., Luo, X., Cooney, N., Thomas, J. & Okuyemi, K. (2019). “It’s a hard thing to manage when you’re homeless”: The impact of the social environment on smoking cessation for smokers experiencing homelessness. BioMed Central. Web.