Needle Exchange Program Analysis

Words: 1394
Pages: 6

The ultimate goal of those that work in the Health Science field is to manage people’s health and to control the spread of disease. They must know what the problem is, why it is happening and how to fix it. They determine where the problem areas are and they continue to work on them. These are not short term problems either, though it can be. A lot of times, everything is monitored over long periods of time and evaluated, going continuously until the problem is either solved or until they can find another route to try. This is how they determine whether or not things are improving. In this case, it is also necessary to evaluate programs that have long been in the making, but are also highly controversial, such as the needle exchange program. …show more content…
These are literal clinics that offer sterile needles to those that ask, as well as other equipment, such as swabs and sterile water (AVERT.org, 2014). And as the name suggests, it is also a place where they can dispose of their dirty needles, instead of dropping them somewhere else. The point of this program is to prevent the spread of disease, whether that is HIV or other blood borne disease and the potential for another drug addict to pick up the dirty needle and use it is there. So in order to avoid this, they use these clinics as safe havens where they can feel somewhat safe and unjudged when disposing of their needle. No questions asked at all. “Meeting patients in settings where trust has already been established is an important way to begin a therapeutic relationship. IDUs have grown to trust NSPs,” (Islam, 2010). This in itself is an excellent process because many people with personal problems are less likely to seek help if judged, so the fact that people can come in and not get arrested for what they are doing is very encouraging to those that are addicted to drugs, but want to be safe while doing …show more content…
We know it has potential to do great because it has lowered the rate of spread of disease by a considerable amount on its own, but it needs to increase the number of needles allowed to be given to a single person. It also needs to increase its number of stations to include problem areas that are not handled in the slightest. Making these clinics more readily available to the public will in turn increase the rate of people being safe with needles, in turn lowering the rate of disease again. In order for this to happen, more funding would be needed, requiring the government to step in the take initiative in this program as