With health and wellness advocacy as a part of their role, medical-surgical nurses should do their best to address patients' hidden health care concerns such as drug misuse and abuse, and lead them to treatment resources. By gaining knowledge of prescription drug abuse and misuse, nurses will be more prepared to recognize these problems in their patients.

OBJECTIVES We examined long-term prescription drug misuse outcomes in 3 randomized controlled trials evaluating brief universal preventive interventions conducted during middle school. METHODS In 3 studies, we tested the Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP); evaluated a revised ISFP, the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 plus the school-based Life Skills Traini...

This program assessed the impact of student presentations on 30 seniors and sought to improve their knowledge of prescription drug misuse and abuse. The six pharmacy students used the ASCP Foundation's "STAMP Out Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse Tool Kit." Information presented to senior audiences included descriptions of drug misuse and abuse and preventive measures to uphold medication safe...

BACKGROUND It is becoming more commonplace for employees to use prescription medication outside of intended use. Opioid and other prescription misuse has implications for the health and productivity of workers. Easy-to-access webinars that help employees learn about alternatives to prescription use may decrease risk. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of an interactiv...

Introduction Opioids have been viewed for centuries as the most effective treatment for chronic pain, yet in the past decade the misuse of prescription opioids has become a The number of prescriptions filled for opioid pain relievers—some of the most powerful medications available—has increased dramatically in recent years. From 1997 to 2007, the milligram per person use of prescription opioids...

BACKGROUND Prescription drug abuse in Southwest Virginia is a serious problem affecting indi-viduals, families, and communities. The aim of this study was to characterize and understand the extent of the prescription drug abuse problem in Southwest, Virginia as well as the dynamics that surround that abuse. More specifically, the study focused on learning the extent of the problem along with wh...

OBJECTIVES Substance-related impairment of physicians is a small but serious problem, with significant consequences for patient safety and public health. The purpose of this study was to identify reasons for prescription drug misuse among physicians referred to a physician health program for monitoring because of substance-related impairment, to develop better mechanisms for prevention and inte...

Prescription drug misuse and abuse is a growing problem in America. It has negative effects on employees themselves, as well as productivity in the workplace, costing organizations money. This brief note describes a webinar that was designed to increase awareness of prescription drug abuse and misuse, as well as offering options on treatment for employees. 91% of participants agreed that they w...

Overview Prescription drug abuse, misuse and overdoses are on the rise. In 2010, drug overdoses killed 38,329 Americans, 16,651 of whom died from prescription opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone. These drugs also were responsible for 420,040 emergency room visits in 2011. Opioid painkiller deaths have increased in lockstep with prescription opioid prescribing, and th...