The role of mountaintop removal mining in the opioid crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-310
Author(s):  
M. Katie Marberry ◽  
Danilea Werner
Keyword(s):  
Mountaintop Removal ◽  
Mountaintop Removal Mining ◽  
Opioid Crisis

The Role of Drones in Anti-Mountaintop Removal Activism

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-67
Author(s):  
Aron Douglas Massey
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Environmental Activism ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Mountaintop Removal ◽  
Appalachian Mountain ◽  
Mountaintop Removal Mining

This research project examines the usefulness of drones in environmental activism, especially within the fight against mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. The paper examines the tactics of Coal River Mountain Watch and the Appalachian Mountain Patrol, anti-MTR activists that use drone surveillance to enhance their fight against this destructive practice. The use of drones increases the complexity of strategies employed by Appalachian activists and challenges many of the traditionally held, but continually critiqued, stereotypes present in Appalachian research. Beyond a deeper understanding of Appalachian activism, this paper investigates the ways in which knowledge production and epistemological assumptions are challenged by less costly and more accessible technologies such as drones.

scholarly journals Rural Emergency Medical Service Providers Perceptions on the Causes of and Solutions to the Opioid Crisis: A Qualitative Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272098771
Author(s):  
Heather Blue ◽  
Ashley Dahly ◽  
Susan Chhen ◽  
Julie Lee ◽  
Adam Shadiow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Management ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Emergency Medical Service ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Medical Service ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Access To Treatment ◽  
Opioid Crisis

Introduction: The continuing opioid crisis poses unique challenges to remote and often under-resourced rural communities. Emergency medical service (EMS) providers serve a critical role in responding to opioid overdose for individuals living in rural or remote areas who experience opioid overdoses. They are often first at the scene of an overdose and are sometimes the only health care provider in contact with an overdose patient who either did not survive or refused additional care. As such, EMS providers have valuable perspectives to share on the causes and consequences of the opioid crisis in rural communities. Methods: EMS providers attending a statewide EMS conference serving those from greater Minnesota and surrounding states were invited to take a 2-question survey asking them to reflect upon what they believed to be the causes of the opioid crisis and what they saw as the solutions to the opioid crisis. Results were coded and categorized using a Consensual Qualitative Research approach. Results: EMS providers’ perceptions on causes of the opioid crisis were categorized into 5 main domains: overprescribing, ease of access, socioeconomic vulnerability, mental health concerns, and lack of resources and education. Responses focused on solutions to address the opioid crisis were categorized into 5 main domains: need for increased education, enhanced opioid oversight, increased access to treatment programs, alternative therapies for pain management, and addressing socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Conclusion: Along with the recognition that the opioid crisis was at least partially caused by overprescribing, rural EMS providers who participated in this study recognized the critical role of social determinants of health in perpetuating opioid-related harm. Participants in this study reported that education and increased access to treatment facilities and appropriate pain management, along with recognition of the role of social determinants of health in opioid dependency, were necessary steps to address the opioid crisis.

The Role of Public Health in Schools during the Opioid Crisis

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-198
Author(s):  
Martell L Teasley
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Opioid Crisis

scholarly journals The prescription opioid crisis: role of the anaesthesiologist in reducing opioid use and misuse

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. e198-e208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen M. Soffin ◽  
Bradley H. Lee ◽  
Kanupriya K. Kumar ◽  
Christopher L. Wu
Keyword(s):  
Prescription Opioid ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Opioid Crisis

scholarly journals Let’s talk about pain and opioids: Low pitch and creak in medical consultations

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joseph Torres ◽  
Stephen G. Henry ◽  
Vaidehi Ramanathan
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
The United States ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Opioid Crisis ◽  
Medical Consultations ◽  
Context Specific

In recent years, the opioid crisis in the United States has sparked significant discussion on doctor–patient interactions concerning chronic pain treatments, but little to no attention has been given to investigating the vocal aspects of patient talk. This exploratory sociolinguistic study intends to fill this knowledge gap by employing prosodic discourse analysis to examine context-specific linguistic features used by the interlocutors of two distinct medical interactions. We found that patients employed both low pitch and creak as linguistic resources when describing chronic pain, narrating symptoms and requesting opioids. The situational use of both features informs us about the linguistic ways in which patients frame fraught issues like chronic pain in light of the current opioid crisis. This study expands the breadth of phonetic analysis within the domain of discourse analysis, serving to illuminate discussions surrounding the illocutionary role of the lower vocal tract in expressing emotions.

scholarly journals Increased Dementia Mortality in West Virginia Counties with Mountaintop Removal Mining?

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (21) ◽  
pp. 4278 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Salm ◽  
Michael J. Benson
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Atmospheric Particulate Matter ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Mountaintop Removal ◽  
Satellite Imaging ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Mountaintop Removal Mining ◽  
Causative Factors ◽  
Type Studies

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is elevated in areas of mountaintop removal mining (MTM), a practice that has been ongoing in some counties of West Virginia (WV) USA since the 1970s. PM inhalation has been linked to central nervous system pathophysiology, including cognitive decline and dementia. Here we compared county dementia mortality statistics in MTM vs. non-MTM WV counties over a period spanning 2001–2015. We found significantly elevated age-adjusted vascular or unspecified dementia mortality/100,000 population in WV MTM counties where, after adjusting for socioeconomic variables, dementia mortality was 15.60 (±3.14 Standard Error of the Mean (S.E.M.)) times higher than that of non-MTM counties. Further analyses with satellite imaging data revealed a highly significant positive correlation between the number of distinct mining sites vs. both mean and cumulative vascular and unspecified dementia mortality over the 15 year period. This was in contrast to finding only a weak relationship between dementia mortality rates and the overall square kilometers mined. No effect of living in an MTM county was found for the rate of Alzheimer’s type dementia and possible reasons for this are considered. Based on these results, and the current literature, we hypothesize that inhalation of PM associated with MTM contributes to dementia mortality of the vascular or unspecified types. However, limitations inherent in ecological-type studies such as this, preclude definitive extrapolation to individuals in MTM-counties at this time. We hope these findings will inspire follow-up cohort and case-controlled type studies to determine if specific causative factors associated with living near MTM can be identified. Given the need for caregiving and medical support, increased dementia mortality of the magnitude seen here could, unfortunately, place great demands upon MTM county public health resources in the future.

scholarly journals Mountaintop Removal Mining and Catchment Hydrology

Water ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Miller ◽  
Nicolas Zégre
Keyword(s):  
Catchment Hydrology ◽  
Mountaintop Removal ◽  
Mountaintop Removal Mining

The role of medical cannabis in the opioid crisis

2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-41
Author(s):  
Lucy Samoilov ◽  
Claire P Browne
Keyword(s):  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Opioid Crisis ◽  
Parallel Increase ◽  
Addiction Risk ◽  
Related Mortality

Opioid use increased dramatically in the 1990s upon introduction of newer, more relaxed regulations. As opioid prescriptions for pain increased, a parallel increase in opioid abuse and addiction occurred; this phenomenon is widely known as the opioid crisis. Cannabis had long been considered a recreational drug until legislation in 2001 allowed highly limited access to the drug for medicinal purposes. Although small-scale clinical trials show promising results for the use of cannabis in pain management, it is not currently indicated for chronic or severe-to-moderate acute pain, for which opioids are typically considered the standard of care. The impending legalization of recreational cannabis may mark a turning point in pain medicine as the general public becomes able to selfmedicate with cannabis. This increased availability may lead individuals prescribed opioids to combine or replace them with cannabis, with potential positive impacts. There is growing evidence that cannabinoid compounds present in cannabis are able to augment opioid-induced pain relief. Increased availability of cannabis is linked to decreased opioid-related mortality and hospitalizations; furthermore, cannabis might act as a tool to treat opioid addiction. Cannabis does possess adverse effects and addiction risk, and expanded research into its properties is needed. However, its relatively decreased risk profile and potential positive effects indicate that it may serve an important role in addressing the opioid crisis.

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