Critical Approach
The Critical Approach of medical anthropology examines how cultural, societal, political and economical factors influence health and medical care. In regards to drug addiction, the Critical Approach plays a monumental role in the course of action that someone suffering from addiction takes when attempting to overcome their illness.
My first piece of multimedia is a short YouTube mini-documentary that shows how addiction can affect anyone at anytime regardless of certain factors that we may think makes some individuals more susceptible to it. The first subject, Robbie found himself in a downward spiral of pain killer addiction due to a traumatic accident he suffered. His prescription to pain killers quickly evolved into a full blow addiction. Robbie comes from a well balanced and seemingly, typical American family with everything going for him. However, addiction still found its way into his life. Cultural factors like socioeconomic status play a large role in addition. Those from poorer areas are often exposed to more drugs because of where they live and those they live around. What is being discovered is that our medical culture, especially how we treat pain is allowing for drugs to find their ways into all facets of American society. The fact that Robbie was exposed to painkillers through a legitimate source, yet it lead to a horrible addiction, proves that addiction transcends socioeconomic borders. Robbie using the infrastructure of his family and soon-to-be wife was able to afford rehabilitation and has since recovered. This exposes another facet of the Critical Approach. Robbie’s economic and cultural wellbeing allowed him to successfully seek out help and recover. Others in his situation are left with fewer options and often find it much more difficult to overcome the hurdles of addiction. The second piece of multimedia displays the correlation between prescription pain medications and heroin use. This National Institute of Drug Abuse info graphic shows that there is a staggering connection between those that used prescription painkillers recreationally and how it can lead to a dependence on heroin. The info graphic explains that an individual using prescription pain medication for the sole purpose of the high it provides doesn't think it is harmful because a doctor prescribes it normally. This cultural ideology that in that a doctor prescribes cannot be harmful or lead to negative consequences has allowed for heroin and the abuse of painkillers to increase at a staggering rate. Examining addiction from both a medicalized and biomedicalized approach it is easy to see that currently we as a society are treating addiction purely through a biomedical lens. In the past criminalization and stigmatizing drug addiction taught that the only treatment was abstinence. Stay away or get clean were historically the only tenements of addiction treatment. Now, the climate has changed in our society. The judicial system, through political maturation is offering rehabilitation as opposed to jail time. Families and friends are more open to offering greater support to those suffering to allow them to seek treatment as opposed to ostracizing. An individual suffering from addiction is treated through a biomedical approach. They are taught that to overcome their illness, they must redefine themselves and how they live their lives. Their addiction is exposed as a symptom of a larger mental health condition. Familial, economic, sexual, etc., issues can bring about this mental health problem. For example we have seen many prominent figures succumb to drug addiction. Michael Jackson died from an overdose related to a prescribed medication. His death sparked a great debate in our society over whether or not doctors need to consider medication as potentially harmful due to addictive characteristic before prescribing to certain patients. Through further education and allowing those suffering to come forward without stigma we can reduce the numbers of those addicted to all substances. “The faces of drug addiction”. Youtube. Institute4Addiction. Accessed June 24, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR0rneaFego “Abuse of Prescription Pain Medications Risks Heroin Use” National Institute on Drug Abuse. Accessed June 24, 2015. http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/abuse-prescription-pain-medications-risks-heroin-use "Heroin". Distressed Students. Accessed June 24, 2015. https://alcohol.sa.ucsb.edu/Students/InfoAlcoholnDrug/Heroin.aspx?print=1 |