Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
J Pediatr. 2020 Jun;221:159-164. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.02.003. Epub 2020 Mar 3.
To characterize current youth perspectives of prescription pain medication.
In total, 1047 youths aged 14-24 years were recruited by targeted social media advertisements to match national demographic benchmarks. Youths were queried by open-ended text message prompts about exposure and access to prescription pain medication, perceived safety of prescribed and nonprescribed medication, and associations with the word "opioid." Responses were analyzed inductively for emerging themes and frequencies.
Among 745 respondents (71.2% response rate), 439 identified as female (59.3%), 561 as white (75.8%), and mean age was 18.3 ± 3.2 years. Previous exposure to prescription pain medication was reported by 377 respondents (52.0%), most commonly related to dentistry (32.8%), surgery (19.2%), and injury (12.0%). Nonmedical sources of access to prescription pain medication were identified by 256 respondents (36.9%) and medical sources other than their doctor by an additional 111 respondents (16.0%). Three additional themes emerged from youth responses: (1) prescribed medication was thought to be safer than nonprescribed medication, based on trust in doctors; (2) risks of addiction and overdose were thought to be greater for nonprescribed medication; (3) respondents had a widely ranging understanding of the word "opioid," from historical to current events, medical to illicit substances, and personal to public associations.
Although youths are aware of the opioid crisis, they perceive less risk of prescription pain medication prescribed by a doctor, than from other sources. Policies should target education to youth in clinical and nonclinical settings, highlighting the risks of addiction and overdose with all opioids.
描述当前年轻人对处方止痛药的看法。
通过有针对性的社交媒体广告，共招募了 1047 名 14-24 岁的年轻人，以匹配全国人口统计学基准。通过开放式短信提示询问年轻人接触和获取处方止痛药的情况、对处方和非处方药物安全性的看法，以及与“阿片类药物”相关的看法。通过归纳分析来确定主题和出现频率。
在 745 名回答者中（52.0%的回应率），439 名女性（59.3%），561 名白人（75.8%），平均年龄为 18.3±3.2 岁。377 名受访者（52.0%）报告曾接触过处方止痛药，最常见的是与牙科（32.8%）、手术（19.2%）和受伤（12.0%）有关。256 名受访者（36.9%）报告了非医疗途径获取处方止痛药，另有 111 名受访者（16.0%）报告了除医生以外的医疗途径。年轻人的回答还出现了另外三个主题：（1）基于对医生的信任，他们认为处方药物比非处方药物更安全；（2）他们认为非处方药物的成瘾和过量风险更大；（3）受访者对“阿片类药物”一词有广泛的理解，从历史事件到当前事件，从医学到非法物质，从个人到公众关联。
尽管年轻人了解阿片类药物危机，但他们认为医生开的处方止痛药的风险低于其他来源。政策应针对临床和非临床环境中的年轻人进行教育，强调所有阿片类药物成瘾和过量的风险。
