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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Beyond Fentanyl Test Strips: The Need To Decriminalize All Drug Checking Equipment In Tennessee, Jeremy C. Kourvelas Mph
Beyond Fentanyl Test Strips: The Need To Decriminalize All Drug Checking Equipment In Tennessee, Jeremy C. Kourvelas Mph
SMART Policy Briefs
KEY POINTS
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In 2022, Tennessee decriminalized fentanyl test strips (FTS) through Public Chapter 764. Thousands have since been distributed by the state and nonprofit coalitions as a key harm reduction strategy. As of the end of 2023, 44 other states and D.C. had also decriminalized FTS.
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Research indicates that people who use drugs are five times as likely to change their behaviors (including reducing drug use overall) in response to a test result that is positive for fentanyl. People who use methamphetamine are especially likely to change their behaviors.
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However, the law only applies to “narcotic testing equipment used to …
Association Between Chronic Disease And Substance Use Among Older Adults In Tennessee, Manik Ahuja, Jessica Stamey, Johanna Cimilluca, Kawther Al Skir, Mary K. Herndon, Kathleen Baggett, Thiveya Sathiyasaleen, Praveen Fernandopulle
Association Between Chronic Disease And Substance Use Among Older Adults In Tennessee, Manik Ahuja, Jessica Stamey, Johanna Cimilluca, Kawther Al Skir, Mary K. Herndon, Kathleen Baggett, Thiveya Sathiyasaleen, Praveen Fernandopulle
ETSU Faculty Works
Background:
Substance use and misuse have a negative impact on health care outcomes, specifically in the older adult population. Older adults are at risk due to several factors occurring toward the end of life such as changing family dynamics, loss of friends and loved ones, and chronic diseases. Substance use in older adults with chronic diseases in rural areas remains poorly studied. This study examines older adults greater than 55 of age in the state of Tennessee, U.S.A.Design and methods:
Data was extracted from the 2019 National Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) with a subsample for the State …Ballad Health: Understanding Appalachia’S Regional Healthcare Monopoly, Meredith A. Bailey
Ballad Health: Understanding Appalachia’S Regional Healthcare Monopoly, Meredith A. Bailey
Baker Scholar Projects
The Ballad Health merger of 2018, which combined the now 21 hospitals in the region under one organization, has impacted the healthcare landscape in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Historically, Appalachia has had to persevere through primary physician shortages, a lack of specialty care, geographic obstacles to accessing healthcare, challenges related to substance abuse, and much more. Since the merger of Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System, little research has been done to assess the perceived impact the aggregation of providers has had on the population it serves. This study utilizes an online survey to better understand the …
The Pink Tax: A Comparative Case Study Between Tennessee And Washington State, Megha Chitturi
The Pink Tax: A Comparative Case Study Between Tennessee And Washington State, Megha Chitturi
Baker Scholar Projects
The imposition of an additional luxury tax on menstrual health products, otherwise referred to as the “Pink Tax” or the “Tampon Tax”, is present in some states while absent in others. The decision to repeal such a tax is one that has proven to be critical, as it removes the connotation that such products are of “luxury” and make them more accessible to menstruators throughout the state. As of 2023, twenty-three states have eliminated the tax. The state of Washington falls under that parameter while Tennessee does not. The purpose of this undergraduate honors thesis is to explore the potential …