Strategies for Fighting Drug Usage in Hong Kong

Research Methodology

In the research on the menace of drug addiction and wanton drug abuse in Hong Kong, the use of literature hitherto formed a central part of the entire process. It was seen to be one of the key sources of information since the interviewing of the hard-core drug addicts may not have been easily possible. The online books and reliable websites by agencies dealing in social and health matters, health organization websites and government and the related ministries websites were central and instrumental in ensuring sufficient literature and data was consolidated in respect to the research.

There are various reasons why a literature review stood out as a central source of useful information for the purpose of expounding on the drug addiction, drug abuse and rehabilitation efforts by the government in Hong Kong. Use of peer reviewed literature stands out as a useful source of verified information and data from reliable research studies and databases (Ferreras-Fernández, Martín-Rodero, García-Peñalvo, & Merlo-Vega, 2016).

Literature reviews also act as a source of trends in the past where the projections of the way drugs have been a menace in the past can be seen. The comparison of various findings on drug addiction in Hong Kong is instrumental in showing the trend the drug addiction has taken over the years. With the trend extracted from the literature review, the research can significantly project the future of the drug addiction in Hong Kong, but also use the trends to know the prevailing levels of addiction at the moment.

The research also benefited from a comparative analysis of the data and information available in the field of drug addiction. A suitable research is one that is not limited to one or two sources, but one that widens the search and covers as wide as possible the relevant material within the subject and the related material (Saur-Amaral, 2011). The wide pool of literature gives the research a more informed approach to the subject of addiction, looking at the different interpretations that various writers have on the subject within Hong Kong.

It is also important to know that the various theories that exist are fundamental in understanding the issue of drug addiction. The theories help in explanation as to how drug addiction starts and the reasons behind such human behaviors and goes further to give alternative ways to handling drug addiction and overcoming it. These theories can only be sourced from the various literature reviews that were used in the process of the research (Farah, Fauzee, & Daud, 2016). The theories also informed the arguments and proposals that were put forth in the research into the drug addiction and possible control of the same.

Literature review also gives the researcher what different agencies and institutions that deal with drug addiction among the youth in general have to say about the menace. These institutions are an authority in this field hence their take on drug addiction is equally important for the update of the findings of the research and so have to be sourced through the literature review.

There are alternative methodologies that could have been used in this research which included structured questionnaires and structured interview schedules and well as observation. The questionnaire could have given the individual views of both the people in healthcare and the drug addicts themselves as well as members of the society (O\\\'Cathain & Thomas, 2004). These views could be compiled and analyzed to give a clearer picture of the drug addiction trend in Hong Kong. The structured interviews could also be instrumental in getting to know the attitude of the dwellers of Hong Kong on drug abuse and the individual and collective measures that the society and professionals are taking in attempt to reduce and control the use of drugs in this given society (Whiting, 2008). The personal observation could also work, though this may prove to be exhausting at times since the drug abuse habit is not done openly as it is illegal. This may mean the observer must take a long time to interact with the drug users to gain their trust and allow him to observe them as they use it

Procedure for The Literature Review

The search for the literature that was used herein was an exhaustive process that first led to the observation of annotated bibliographies on drug abuse among young people in general. This was literature that was based in various cities across the globe. These annotated bibliographies aided in narrowing down on the relevant literature and the useful online articles and online books in the context of this research. We made use of these library databases PubMed, Medline, EbscoHost, and Cochrane Library were used to search and gather articles. These online libraries came in handy as they are readily available for both the researcher as well as the end user of the researched work and written report. The reader can easily go back to the online article and book as indicated in the reference link and read more or further if they have interest in the particular topic area (Ferreras-Fernández et al., 2016). The online articles hosted by institutions were also seen as a source of reliable data since these are authority figures in the field of drug abuse and have objective information that can constructively inform a research.

With an aim to identifying methods for preventing drug abuse amongst the youth in Hong Kong our literature review was mainly focused on articles that have analyzed the prevalence of drug abuse among the youth both in Hong Kong and other parts of the world. There have been numerous strategies that have been employed to reduce relapse especially amongst the youth. This led us to question the best strategies that can be employed to prevent relapse. In this respect we set out to establish if short-acting opioids when compared to the nonopioid therapy do reduce the incidences of drug use relapse.

In order to narrow down our research and only identify the relevant sources, we made use of synonyms related to drug addiction, drug use, drug abuse, effects of drugs amongst the youth, Hong Kong drug control, Hong Kong health agencies, Hong Kong youth and drugs, effects of drug addiction, overcoming drug addiction, signs of drug addiction, legal measures against drugs in Hong Kong, relapse prevention, opioids, and non-opioids therapy. These terminologies were used as a guide for finding the relevant information on the drug addiction menace in Hong Kong. The inclusion criteria used for the results found was that any article that was from an institution, a health organization, from the government, or drug rehabilitation agency was considered for this research. This assisted in remaining with only the authentic articles that would yield useful information. The exclusion criteria included any article that did not meet the criteria above and belonged to individuals was excluded since their information was not verifiable and most are often personal opinions that did not have well researched supportive arguments with figures.

The critiquing criteria that was used in this research was basically guided by how well the literature was written, the reliability of the author, the purpose of the article/study and the thematic orientation of the article. The thematic analysis also helped in critiquing the data that was available to the research to help in the inclusion or exclusion of the particular research.

The ethical implications of conducting literature review as a research methodology is that the researcher is bound to the information that had already been collected by another party hence does not have the chance or opportunity to question further the literature and will be bound to operate with the literature collected therein (Saur-Amaral, 2011). The danger in this is that if there are some changes in the dynamics of the researched topic like for instance in this case the drug abuse in Hong Kong among the youth, the researcher may not have the chance to capture that change in good time. He is also not able to critique the findings in relation with what is happening on the ground as would a researcher who chooses to carry out observation or questionnaire led methodology. The other ethical concern is on the dilemma of whether the research information one is using was actually carried out in an ethical manner and there was no harm or any other research malpractice in the process of obtaining the information (O\\\'Cathain & Thomas, 2004). One also needs to appreciate the source of the information they use hence the researcher will have to consider the ethical aspect of giving credit to the sources.

Results

Despite the fact that several papers and books were looked at in the process of finding information for the research, nine papers were specifically settled on as useful enough in the context of this research, having passed the exclusion and inclusion criteria. The articles were a mix of ethnographic studies, surveys, clinical trials reports, randomized controlled trials and social scientific studies conducted within communities.

The selection of the articles was guided by the source and the relevance of the article to the study. This meant that those that were deemed most useful for the research were included as shown below.

BeciewiczJ.G., (2016). Injecting Drug Use. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/286976-overview

This is an article from a medical institution and it was instrumental in outlining the drugs most commonly used as injected drugs and the effect that they have as well as how they lead to addiction. It also outlined the dangers that come with injected drug use.

National Centre for Biotechnology Information, (2018). The Effectiveness and Risks of Long-Term Opioid Treatment of Chronic Pain. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK258804/

This was an article sourced from a well-respected government research agency which highlighted the risks that can be associated with the use of opioids in the treatment of chronic pain and how this long-term use can lead to addiction and/or abuse of the opioids. This article was instrumental in informing the research that the addictions may not only come from the illegalized drugs but also from the prescription drugs used over a long period of time.

Pacific Prime, (2018). Youth and drug abuse: Easy Access Alarming Parents in Hong Kong. https://www.pacificprime.hk/blog/2017/07/17/drug-abuse-youth-hong-kong/

This is an article based on ethnographic study carried out within Hong Kong city among the youth and young adults. It was set out to see how easy or difficult it was for young children of school going age to access drugs. It reveals the different means that the contemporary young people use to acquire drugs as well as to peddle drugs among the other children within the learning institutions. This article opens eyes to the endless possibilities that emerge in the drug peddling business and shows how close it has come to each household.

The National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse, (2018).Commonly Used Illegal Drugs.https://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction/commonly-used-illegal-drugs

This article belongs to an agency that deals in drug addiction rehabilitation and hence, as an organization, it gives relevant and reliable information on the use of drugs. Of central concern here are the drugs that are most abused within the society, some even under the view of the parents and guardians since the names used to refer to them are not familiar to the older generations. The agency highlights some drugs that are never considered as addictive and most used yet are highly consumed and significantly detrimental to the society.

DARA Thailand, (2018).Needle Dangers. http://alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction/needle-dangers/

This article is yet another that was sourced from an organization that deals in rehabilitation of drug addicts and alcoholics. This section specifically focused on the use of needles in the drug abuse and how that habit endangers the lives of the users of the needle injected drugs. This article was considered useful since it is sourced from an organization specializing in drug addiction issues and due to the numbers, that it used to explain the contents

American Addiction Centres, (2018). Avoiding Common Triggers to Relapse. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/relapse-prevention/

The importance of this article lies first in the fact that it is based on a well-researched paper that spans over a large number of participants. It outlines the most outstanding issues as to why people get into relapse. Above that, the article outlines the various measures that can be taken to ensure these addicts who are trying to quit the addiction do not relapse.

Casa Palmera, (2009). The Effects of Drug Abuse on Teens. Retrieved February 28, 2018 from https://casapalmera.com/blog/the-effects-of-drug-abuse-on-teens/

The article is focused on the young generation in specific and shows how different drugs affect their health, brain and personality in different ways. Being from an organization that understands drug abuse and drug addiction, the article proves to be useful in the shaping of this research paper through providing details from the perspective of the youth.

Volkow, Nora D, George F Koob, and A Thomas McLellan, (2016). Neurobiologic Advances from the Brain Disease Model of Addiction. Retrieved April 08, 2018 from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1511480

This article reviews the scientific advances that have been made in the treatment and prevention of substance-use disorder. This being a medical review article and published by a reputable organization, the article proves useful, especially when it comes to the prevention and treatment of addiction amongst the youth. The article notes that addiction is a disease that emerges gradually and it mainly has its onset in the adolescence period. Taking addiction to be a brain disease model will result in treatment being aimed at restoring the healthy function of the affected brain circuitry, which will lead to behavior improvements.

Article Critique

Article Author

Strengths of Article

Shortcoming

Beciewicz J.G., (2016).

The article gives a historical perspective of injected drug use and shows how the progress of the vice has been over the years. It further proves to be relevant as it divides the subject of injected drug use into different approaches like the pathophysiology, epidemiology and clinical presentation, making it an easy to understand article.

There lacks numbers and statistics to help argue the facts.