PUBH6392: The Drug Overdose Crisis in America

The drug overdose crisis is one of the most pressing public health issues in the US today. The staggering rate of deaths attributed to opioid overdose has received wide attention from the media and general public. Yet its origins are deeply rooted in America’s long and complicated relationship with chemical substances. This course explores the social, medical, and cultural aspects of the modern American substance use phenomenon. A social-ecological and structural determinants framework will be used to examine the public health impact of substance use disorder on individuals and communities. The course will open with a review of the history and epidemiology of the substance use epidemic in the US. Students will then learn the fundamentals of physiological and psychological aspects of chemical dependency, including addiction treatment options. Lastly the class will examine the public health data used to describe population level substance use, including common misinterpretations of the data. The course will also feature guest speakers from clinical medicine and with personal experience of substance use disorder to broaden insights from both clinical and experiential perspectives. The course will feature a mixture of in-class lectures, readings, an in-class lab on the use of epidemiologic data, and a final project to impart a more contextual, nuanced, and in-depth understanding of substance use in modern America.

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