The concept map is separated into two sections. The top section has my personal interests. I do a lot of reading in this area, mainly books and articles. Of interest is how a person can thrive in today’s busy world. I am particularly interested in how the mind and body are interconnected from a wellness and health perspective and how coaching can assist a person for best outcomes.
The bottom section involves my professional life. I have been in the addiction medicine world from a medication assisted treatment perspective. It is interesting to see how complex and interconnected opioids are from many different perspectives on the Canadian Landscape. Each connecting line could be at least one study. There is a crisis happening right now in Canada with an average of 11 people dying every day of an opioid overdose. It is difficult for people to find help and know where to go if they run into trouble and what the outcomes are. There are many entry points for individuals to take opioids.
The concept map from the opioid circle spreading out could be a potential answer to the research questions of; How are opioids interconnected? How do people get addicted to opioids? Where can individuals find treatment for their opioid addiction? What are the outcomes of newly set up Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinics in Ontario? Here are a few more formal questions;
- What are the factors for someone to become addicted if prescribed an opioid for pain? (Chronic vs. acute pain, timeframes, history of mental illness or other addictions)
- Ontario is moving to a model of Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinics, what are the success rates of this model? (Number of ER’s using this type of service, number of patients served, GP acceptance of continuing a patient in treatment.)
- What is the patient experience of getting opioid addiction treatment in family practice?
- Why is navigating treatment options for opioid addiction so difficult? What information systems need to be I place for a patient to be informed of where to get treatment for opioid addiction?
- What differences are there in the paths women vs men take when 10 – 15 years pre-retirement?
- Do women experience a re-purposing after their children are independent?
The strongest research question is the second one regarding RAAM clinics. The province of Ontario is starting to get them up and running. It would help to know if patients get into treatment sooner than later. Do RAAM clinics reduce wait times at hospital emergency departments? Is there an overall cost saving by having this specialized clinic? Only some hospitals have access to them currently. It would be interesting to see during this time of change the difference RAAM clinics make. Do they live up to the promise.
If followed through, it would involve searching many broad fields of literature, such as current RAAM Clinics, healthcare, government and funding models, addiction overdoes statistics, addiction treatment, emergency departments and LIHNS. Of concern would be getting current information when RAAM clinics are relatively new.
Dear Charlie,
You already highlighted the one comment I was going to make: if these clinics are relatively new, then there many not be many research articles on the topic.
I think this is a great topic in general. The research question that you have chosen may need to be adjusted slightly so that you can actually find scholarly information on it. Just so that you are aware, this research question will define what you work on for assignment 3, 4 and what you write for your final paper in assignment 5 so you want to make sure you are clear about what you want to pursue at the beginning (and make sure there is literature available on it). I will follow up with you tomorrow with more specific information regarding the evaluation of this assignment
Have a good evening.
Dr. Strong.