Shannon Olsen

Professor Goran 

Integrating Experience III

12 October 2023

Needle Exchange 

I had prior knowledge of the Needle Exchange Program (NEP) before experiencing the class discussion and presentation on the program in class this week in Integrating Experience III. I knew the program helped with removing used syringes from communities in the U.S. I also knew that the NEP helped groups of people with harm reduction in several ways. The presentation has changed my pre-existing beliefs on how big of an issue overdosing is in Maine and what the program is up against regarding opioid addictions and/or harm reduction. Maine has the highest Hepatitis C rates in the country currently, and used syringes/injection occurrences have played a huge factor in this disease spread. Last year in 2022, there were over 10,000 overdoses in Maine, and these rates have been increasing yearly. Health disparities amongst this population are also growing and should be addressed. The drug using population includes many different age groups, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Applications for harm reduction kits, and/or making harm reduction kits for the communities in Maine most affected by this issue, such as Portland, ME, could help address the issue without regarding race/ethnicity and/or background. Having a volunteer group create harm reduction kits and deliver them to communities will help improve overdose rates by having the kits contain naloxone. I can apply what I have learned about the Needle Exchange Program in class to my Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice by understanding the differences between common opioids and abused drugs and being able to relay this information to others in my future nursing practice and during my choice event. My choice event which I have already attended involved talking through the issues with polypharmacy and abuse of prescription drugs. This event relates to the presentation in class about NEP, because medications such as opioids, can do more harm than good when in an abused form. In conclusion, it is important as the nurse to understand the current issues in today’s world such as the opioid crisis in the U.S, in order to provide the most effective and appropriate care for future patients.