Research Perspective and Opposing Viewpoints Language Essay

Review & Critique of Research Perspectives: Opioid Drug Addiction
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Death rates involved with opioid overdose have been continuously climbing despite the efforts of the government to curb it down. Current efforts mainly focus on how opioid is used in hospital and outpatient setting however, limited data is available for demographical information. The study of Hernandez, et al. (2020) entitled Epidemiological and Geospatial Profile of the Prescription Opioid Crisis in Ohio, United States focuses on an inadequate amount of demographical data about exposed populations to use of opioid overdose and death. Researchers are affiliated to the University of Cincinnati, Oregon State University, and Drexel University in Philadelphia and have not declared any competing interests. The article was peer-reviewed before online publishing and showed no potential bias. All data used in the study followed the standards for ethical review and the secondary data analysis protocols given by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Cincinnati and the Ohio Department of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also funded this study.
Research objective addressed the limited information available regarding the unprecedented increase in death count caused by prescribed opioid overdose in the United States, specifically in Ohio. Comprehending the vital spatiotemporal characteristics needed regarding the opioid epidemic will deliver relevant data desired to determine the socio-economic determinants of the said predicament as well as the locality of the most vulnerable group of people, and where government intervention needs to be implemented.
Through a quantitative research method, the researchers used the data gathered from Ohio’s Department of Health for the mortality caused by medical opioids from 2010–2017 to determine both the spatial and temporal dynamics of the prescribed opioid abuse in the state of Ohio. Using a spatial scan implemented in the SaTScan software, statistical analysis of data for the spatial distribution of deaths from an opioid overdose from 2010 to 2017 were analyzed. To determine the locations with dangerous rates of opioid overdose death, researchers calculated the temporal frequency and average relative risk (RR) using postal code located within the area of hotspots using the Bayesian models fitted in Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) and applied in the software package for R-INLA. Bayesian interrupted time series analysis was used for the evaluation of the temporal trend of overdose death rate as specified in the CausalIimpact package in R.
Results have shown a continuous increase in the frequency in mortality due to inappropriate prescription of opioid dose in Ohio from 2010-2017. Spatial clustering analysis detected 12 geographical locations as hotspots for opioid overdose death cases. The RR of death due to a prescription opioid overdose using temporal analysis showed a substantial increase within the areas of hotspots while from 2010-2017, there have been three classified changes in temporal trend analysis. Combining the approach used for getting the spatial epidemiology with the data of deaths gathered from 2010-2017, results have shown that epidemic was focused within a specific location and influences a specific group of people. 
Aside from the concern for epidemiological data, it is also crucial to understand clinicians’ involvement regarding the continuous rising of opioid abuse in the healthcare setting. The journal article by Mazurenko, Andraka-Christou, Bair, Kara, & Harle (2020) entitled Clinical Perspectives on Hospitals’ Role in the Opioid Epidemic focuses on examining the role of hospitals as contributors to the current opioid abuse in the US. The journal underwent a peer review before being published in an online journal. Authors are affiliated to different known universities in Indianapolis & Florida such as Indiana University, University of Central Florida, & the University of Florida. All have declared to have no competing interests. The research study was granted an exemption for ethical review and agreement to participate by the Indiana University Office of Research Compliance for presenting a negligible risk of harm to the subjects. Researchers have ensured that every participant has a chance to clarify questions as well as a copy of the information sheet from the researchers that explains the goals and procedures of the research as per IRB recommendation.
Different societal bodies have mentioned their apprehension that hospital-based physicians may have unjustly prescribing opioids when dealing with patients’ pain care needs to obtain better scores for hospital reimbursement. The researchers wanted to address if participants perceive their workplace as contributors to the current opioid crisis and if they do, how.
Using a qualitative research approach, researchers have conducted semi-structured interviews from 6 different hospitals in the Midwestern US. Included individual clinicians were 12 hospitalists, 9 in-patient registered nurses, and 2 in-patient adult nurses with 23 clinicians in total. Analysis using a qualitative thematic approach, ...