Identify the population affected
The target population affected by drug abuse from the documentary include young people between the age of fifteen to forty-years-old. The documentary provides insightful information on the aspects of drug abuse and the effects that it has on young people in the streets of Vancouver. The documentary places emphasis on how people’s lives have been changed by using drugs.
What is the mental health concern depicted in the video/documentary?
The use of drugs is dynamic and begins at different levels for different individuals. Irrespective of an individual’s socioeconomic status or background (Tran et al., 2019) . Drug addiction can affect anyone. Different people are at risk of developing substance abuse and drug addiction problems. From the documentary, we can conclude that the vulnerability of the population originated from family background, social norms, and psychological factors (Tran et al., 2019) . Many people who are drug addicts are also diagnosed with mental health disorders and vice versa. According to research, individuals who experience mental illnesses at any point in their lives too will fall victim to substance abuse and vice versa. Many at times, drug abuse occurs with the high prevalence of mental disorders such as depression, borderline personality, and attention-deficit hyperactivity (Tran et al., 2019) . It also takes time to diagnose a drug abuse problem with a co-occurring mental health problem.
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Explain why you chose this issue/topic and how it directly relates to the population
Although drug addiction can occur any at any stage or age during an individual’s life, the youth are the most vulnerable, and drug abuse commonly starts in adolescence, which is also the period when mental health problems begin to appear (Tran et al., 2019) . This is an important topic because, during the transition childhood to adulthood that occurs between age 18 to 25 years, individuals with comorbid disorders require support to help them navigate through stressful changes that occur in work, relationships, and education (Tran et al., 2019) . There is also the element of peer pressure from friends and family who are drug addicts that make the vice seem cool (Louie et al., 2020) . Drug abuse relates to the target population because their lives, dreams, and relationships have been demolished.
Research and describe two mental health interventions that could be relevant to this issue and population
Family and community-based treatment provide an integrated approach to the treatment of people who have been affected by drug abuse (Tsai et al., 2019) . The dependence on family or the community provides centered care through detoxification and stabilization to aftercare and integration (Tsai et al., 2019) . This approach involves the coordination of various social and health services that are required to meet the needs of the patient. There are also individually-targeted interventions for young adults and adolescents who are experiencing substance abuse. Individual-based intervention methods include psychotherapy, counseling, and mentoring (Tsai et al., 2019) . Drug addicts are selected based on their personality scales, and then they are invited to participate in group- or individual-based therapy or intervention sessions that are aimed at targeting their dominant personality profile (Louie et al., 2020) . The interventions make use of approaches such as motivational enhanced therapy, psycho-education, and cognitive behavioral therapy in addition to real-life scenarios by former drug addicts with similar profiles.
Reflection on the Video
What was your initial reaction to the video/documentary?
I found the documentary very insightful on the effects that drug abuse has on society and youths. I must admit that before watching the documentary, I believed that homeless people on the streets were either poor or came from rich spoilt backgrounds, and they never appreciated the chances that they had been offered. There was a notion that some of them were drug addicts, but I felt little or no pity for them, for they only had themselves to blame for their situations (Louie et al., 2020) . The documentary spurred feelings of remorse inside me to the victims of drug abuse, and I was angry because the federal government was not doing enough to help alleviate the situation. I applaud the police officers for not arresting the victims as they could have been part of the problem.
Describe how the documentary or video made you feel about the population depicted.
I sympathize with drug abuse victims from the documentary. It has been twenty-one years since the film was produced, and it is my prayer and hope that the victims were incorporated into intervention and rehabilitation programs that turned their lives around (Russell et al., 2020) . Drug addiction is an issue that is not supposed to be taken lightly in society. Although some victims abuse of drugs as a matter of choice, other drug abusers are victims of circumstances. Irrespective of these, the government, in partnership with not-for-profit organizations and the private sector, should incorporate intervention centers in every community to help combat drug abuse (Russell et al., 2020) .
What knowledge did you gain from the video or documentary?
The documentary opened my eyes to the effects of substance abuse and the effects it has on families and the victims. From the documentary, I have come to understand that we should not take things at face value but instead look at more profound meanings (Russell et al., 2020) . I have seen how life can be destroyed once, an individual gets addicted to drugs, and I must admit that it was upsetting when the victims of drug abuse in the documentary revealed that they wanted to stop, but they could not. I think, as a society, we need to do more than showcase the plight of drug addicts (Louie et al., 2020) . There is a high rate of comorbidity between substance abuse and mental health problems (Russell et al., 2020) . Therefore, an integrated approach needs to be developed to identify, understand, and evaluate mental disorders and provide treatment to patients.
How will this help you in your future nursing practice?
Today, our society stigmatizes addiction, and people struggling with addiction have been portrayed as criminals, weak and morally corrupt. As a nurse, I would not want to develop negative attitudes towards drug addicts but instead, develop compassion in taking care of people with addictions and developing interventions that will help achieve the highest level of health possible.
References
Louie, E., Barrett, E., Baillie, A., Haber, P., & Morley, K. (2020). Implementation of evidence-based practice for alcohol and substance use disorders: protocol for systematic review. Systematic Reviews , 9 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-1285-0
Russell, D., Thames, K., Spence, N., & Koeval, C. (2020). Where the Fault Lies: Representations of Addiction in Audience Reactions to Media Coverage of the Opioid Epidemic. Contemporary Drug Problems , 47 (2), 83-102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091450920929102
Tran, B., Moir, M., Latkin, C., Hall, B., Nguyen, C., & Ha, G. et al. (2019). Global research mapping of substance use disorder and treatment 1971–2017: implications for priority setting. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, And Policy , 14 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-019-0204-7
Tsai, A., Alegría, M., & Strathdee, S. (2019). Addressing the context and consequences of substance use, misuse, and dependence: A global imperative. PLOS Medicine , 16 (11), e1003000. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003000
