Chapter 3: Opioids: Contributing to Both Health and Death 2 CE Hours
By: Stephen A. Born, CFSP Learning outcomes
Explain the proper procedures when removing the deceased and clothing before embalming. Identify how opioids affect the body and how this affects the embalming process. Discuss how opioids affect the brain, including how naloxone combats the drug. Formulate a plan for naloxone administration at the funeral home. Adapt techniques to ensure safety for funeral home staff and visitors. issues for embalmers. Funeral directors and embalmers need to be aware of safety procedures before embalming and to incorporate strict personal protective equipment. There are different embalming techniques for embalming an individual who was on opioids at the time of death as well as those who have overdosed on opioids. This course will also describe strategies to help combat overdoses in the funeral home. health outcomes. Addressing implicit bias in healthcare is crucial for achieving equity in medical treatment. Strategies to combat these biases involve education and awareness programs for healthcare professionals. These programs help individuals recognize and acknowledge their biases, fostering a more empathetic and unbiased approach to patient care. Additionally, implementing policies and procedures prioritizing equitable treatment for all patients can play a pivotal role in reducing healthcare disparities. Ultimately, confronting implicit bias in healthcare is essential to creating a more just and equitable healthcare system where everyone receives fair and equal treatment regardless of their background or characteristics. ● Complicated grief : Debilitating emotional pain caused by a traumatic event or severe loss. The person feels there is no escape from the loss and is unable to deal with or comprehend the pain. ● Displacement aggression : Taking one’s frustrations out on another who was not the cause of the issue. An example of this is having a bad day at work and taking it out on the family. ● Hypostasis : Also known as postmortem staining or livor mortis. Influenced by gravity, blood settles to the most dependent parts of the body. The staining is blue or purple. ● Intravenous : Within a vein. An example of this is a syringe administering medications directly into the veins and, ultimately, into the bloodstream. ● Naloxone : An opioid antagonist that rapidly reverses the toxic effects of an opioid overdose. The medication works by blocking the effects of opioids by binding to the opioid receptor sites in the brain. It can be administered by an intranasal spray or by syringe.
After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Explain what an opioid is and why opioid use is turning into an epidemic. Identify active steps that the medical community is incorporating to combat the epidemic. Identify the dangers embalmers face with opioids. Actively adapt personal protective procedures when dealing with the opiate dependent. Course overview Opioids are pain relievers administered through prescriptions. When someone takes too many opioids or reaches a tolerance threshold, an overdose occurs. With the increase of opioid deaths in the United States, it is imperative that the death-care industry recognizes and respects the hidden dangers. The funeral arrangements, visitation, and funeral can be complicated because of the circumstances surrounding the death. Opioids can affect the vessels and tissues of the body and cause embalming professionals perceive and make treatment decisions, ultimately resulting in disparities in health outcomes. These biases, often unconscious and unintentional, can shape behavior and produce differences in medical care along various lines, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and socioeconomic status. Healthcare disparities stemming from implicit bias can manifest in several ways. For example, a healthcare provider might unconsciously give less attention to a patient Implicit bias in healthcare Implicit bias significantly affects how healthcare or make assumptions about their medical needs based on race, gender, or age. The unconscious assumptions can lead to delayed or inadequate care, misdiagnoses, or inappropriate treatments, all of which can adversely impact Glossary ● Acute pain : Sudden, severe pain caused by an injury. The period of pain is limited as when breaking a bone. The duration of pain is different than chronic pain, which lasts for months or years such as pain from arthritis. ● Aerosolization : A fine mist of particles carried throughout the air. Disturbances of powders or nanoparticles can become airborne and inhaled. ● Anoxia : The total depletion of oxygen to the body or brain. Cells begin to die rapidly because of the absence of oxygen in the blood. ● Autolysis : The enzymatic breakdown on a cellular level. Self-digestion of its own cells or tissues affecting all cells in the body. Autolysis is the first stage of decomposition. ● Bradycardia : A slower than normal heart rate that can be life-threatening. This low heartbeat rate can cause the body to become oxygen deprived, which can cause chest pain, weakness, or dizziness. A regular heartbeat is 60 beats per minute, whereas bradycardia is abnormally slow and beats fewer than 60 times per minute.
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Book Code: FNJ0524
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