A Literature Review of Illicit Opioid Use in Urban vs Rural Areas

A Literature Review of Illicit Opioid Use in Urban vs Rural Areas The purpose of this literature review is to examine the differences between rural and urban illicit opioid drug use. Specifically, this review will look at who is most at risk, associated risk factors, prevention strategies, and evidence based psychological treatments. Illicit opioid use is on the rise across America. I expect to find that rural areas will experience more illicit opioid use than urban areas. The evidence points towards rural areas being at a higher risk of overuse of methadone and illicit use of other opioids such as heroin, when compared to their urban counterparts, particularly in cases where there is early onset age of abuse, lifetime use, and low treatment availability. Some prevention strategies such as needle exchange programs and court programs for minors with drug related charges have reduced HIV/AIDS rates and have kept minors out of prison. Empirical studies show that some of the medications used to treat drug addiction can also be addictive if not properly managed. The best treatment outcomes were those individuals who received in-patient and therapy based treatments with medication and tapering combined. People with out-patient treatments were more likely to relapse when compared to in-patient. These finding could potentially provide knowledge on how to start reversing this epidemic. One limitation in the current literature is the lack of available research in rural areas, which needs further exploration