Posted: September 8th, 2023

Mental health and substance abuse

Respond using APA: at least 4 scholarly references

This should be at least 2 pages long

Quite often, nurse leaders are faced with ethical dilemmas, such as those associated with choices between competing needs and limited resources. Resources are finite, and competition for those resources occurs daily in all organizations.

For example, the use of 12-hour shifts has been a strategy to retain nurses. However, evidence suggests that as nurses work more hours in a shift, they commit more errors. How do effective leaders find a balance between the needs of the organization and the needs of ensuring quality, effective, and safe patient care?

In this Discussion, you will reflect on a national healthcare issue and examine how competing needs may impact the development of polices to address that issue

National healthcare issue is: Mental health and substance abuse

Balancing Competing Needs in Addressing Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Mental health and substance abuse issues present complex challenges for healthcare systems across the United States. As with many areas of healthcare, resources for addressing mental health and addiction are limited while the need is great. This creates an ongoing tension between competing priorities when developing policies in this field. Effective leadership requires finding an equitable balance that can meet diverse needs to the greatest extent possible.
One challenge lies in allocating funding between prevention/early intervention programs versus treatment services. Prevention and early intervention show promise for reducing long-term costs by preventing more serious conditions from developing (National Institute of Mental Health, 2022). However, treatment services are also desperately needed given the high rates of untreated mental illness and addiction in America (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2022). A balanced approach is needed that invests in both prevention/early intervention and treatment.
Access to services also presents tensions. Rural and underserved areas often lack sufficient providers and facilities for mental health and addiction treatment (Health Resources and Services Administration [HRSA], 2022). At the same time, urban areas struggle with long waitlists as demand outpaces available services (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], 2022). Telehealth has expanded access in some areas but also risks exacerbating divides between those with and without access to technology (Yellowlees et al., 2018). Finding equitable solutions to expand access across diverse communities is an ongoing challenge.
Workforce shortages compound these access issues. The mental health workforce has not kept pace with growing need (SAMHSA, 2022). Incentives could help recruit providers to underserved areas but may draw them away from other communities in need (Andrilla et al., 2019). Prioritizing rural/underserved placements versus overall workforce growth presents difficult choices.
In summary, developing effective policies around mental health and substance abuse requires navigating tensions between competing priorities like prevention versus treatment, rural versus urban access, and workforce recruitment versus distribution. Leadership demands considering an array of perspectives to achieve well-balanced, equitable solutions. Ongoing Assessment of policies’ impacts can help identify areas for improvement and ensure the most pressing needs continue receiving attention. With open dialogue and a commitment to compromise, healthcare systems can work to find the optimal balance among competing priorities in service of improving outcomes.
Andrilla, C. H. A., Patterson, D. G., Garberson, L. A., Coulthard, C., & Larson, E. H. (2019). Geographic variation in the supply of selected behavioral health providers. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 56(6), S199–S207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2019.01.014
Health Resources and Services Administration. (2022, March 31). Behavioral health. https://www.hrsa.gov/behavioral-health
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2022). Mental health by the numbers. https://www.nami.org/mhstats
National Institute of Mental Health. (2022, February). Mental illness. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Mental health and substance use disorders. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disorders
Yellowlees, P., Burke, M. M., Marks, S. L., Hilty, D. M., & Shore, J. H. (2018). The use of telepsychiatry to improve access to psychiatric services. Psychiatric Services, 69(3), 247–253. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700298

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