[Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/opioid-drugs-4-q2-what-current-state-op... ]
Dear HIFA colleagues,
Thank you for your inputs so far on Q2. What is the current state of opioid misuse in your country?
Eduardo has explained that opioid misuse in Uruguay is relatively low, but there are problems of patients becoming addicted to painkillers that they are prescribed for medical reasons. He recounted a colleague who 'required opiates after suffering a fracture and became addicted. This cost him his marriage and caused him problems at work. He is still struggling with this addiction'. Diversion of medical fentanyl is a particular problem.
However, the VIII Uruguay National Survey on Drug Use in the General Population, conducted by the National Drug Secretariat, 'reported a heroin use prevalence of 0.1% among the adult population', which seems very high to me - it is on a par with the United Kingdom, which is recognised as a high-prevalence country. I was unable to access the survey report. Also, as Eduardo reports, this 'did not provide information on other opioids'.
Meeting the opioid information needs of the general population, health workers and policymakers requires ready access not only to evidence-based advice on prevention and management of misuse, but also an understanding of the problem as a public health issue in each country. At first sight, such information seems challenging to get. Can anyone provide a reference where such data for each country is available?
I would also ask a related question: If every young person was aware that X people died every day in their country, would this help to give him or her an appreciation of the danger of these drugs? In the United States alone, 80,000 people die every day from opioid overdose. How many young people are aware of, and understand, this fact?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org