The Substance Misuse and Abuse Reduction Team, or SMART, is a community coalition that tackles prescription drug abuse in Utah County. This blog is dedicated to the efforts and successes of the coalition.
SMART was organized in 2007 and is currently funded by the SPF grant which ends in 2011. Last year the coalition was awarded a Drug Free Communities grant. This will sustain their efforts for at least an addition 5 years. SMART Utah County’s mission is to prevent alcohol and prescription narcotic drug misuse/abuse among individuals living in Utah County. We are doing this by organizing the efforts of key stakeholders to implement targeted, evidence-based strategies aimed at reducing risk factors that encourage citizens to misuse/abuse substances.
Target Populations in Utah County
1. Providers overprescribing pain relievers —Physicians, Dentists
2. Parents and youth 18 and younger—prevent before they get to typical age of abuse ( ages 18 to 35)
3. Residents with leftover prescription pain medication in the home—(1) ages 18 to 30 and 51 and over (2) married, and (3) income of $45,000 to $75,000.
Why Target Residents with Leftover Prescriptions?
Our countywide survey discovered, having leftover prescription pain medicine in the home is associated with a greater likelihood of: (1) Using it for purposes not originally intended by your doctor, (2) sharing the prescription, (3) less concern about getting in trouble with the law for illegally using prescription pain
medication, and (4) Less concern about the health risks associated with pain medicine abuse/misuse.
Who Misuses/Abuses Prescription Drugs in Utah County?
Countywide survey revealed residents abusing prescription drugs are often—(1) equally male and female (2) ages 18 to 35 and 46 to 50, and (3) residing in North and Central Utah County.
Why do Residents Abuse Prescription Drugs?
Provider Lack s Knowledge for Proper Prescribing
Physicians and Dentists lack training on pain pill prescribing Doctors, Dentists, Pharmacists do not use available tools to identify dr. shoppers Physicians and Dentists do no ask patients about their drug use history nor do they educate patients about the addictive potential of pain pills.
Availability—through doctors and friends
Doctors over-prescribe pain pills
Adult and youth share pain pills
Abusers dr. shop to access more pain pills
The community lacks pill disposal sites
Community Norms
Culture is more accepting of pain pill abuse over alcohol, tobacco, and other illicit drug use
Culture encourages storage of leftover pain pills in case of future emergency
Sharing of prescription pain pills is generally accepted in the community
Individual Factors
Some residents believe that abusing pain pill is less risky than illicit drugs
Criminal Justice/Enforcement
Enforcement of prescription laws are more difficult and less of a priority than other
laws—making it easier to abuse prescription drugs and get away with it
There is less fear of getting caught abusing pain pills and less fear of legal consequences
Source of data: (1) focus groups conducted by Utah County Division of Substance Abuse and (2) Gordon Lindsay, Ray Merrill, and Ryan Lindsay. 2009. Understanding Prescription Narcotic and Alcohol Related Morbidity & Mortality in Utah County.
