Is It The Pills? The Pain? Or Maybe The Despair? The Role of the … · 2020. 6. 22. · 20...
Transcript of Is It The Pills? The Pain? Or Maybe The Despair? The Role of the … · 2020. 6. 22. · 20...
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Is It The Pills? The Pain? Or
Maybe The Despair? The Role
of the Problem Definition in
Crafting Legislative Solutions to
the Opioid CrisisBy Taleed El-Sabawi, JD
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Introduction
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• Understand the problem definition
process and how such a process affects
our approach to a social problem• Using causal stories to limit policy alternatives
In order to strategically affect change…
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• Identify dominant causal theories/stories
used to define the Opioid Epidemic by
pressure groups in legislative testimony.
• Identify the solutions supported.
• Explain how these causes and solutions
limit our approach to addressing the
Opioid Epidemic.
Introduction
Purpose of this Presentation
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Why legislative problem
definition?Why pressure
groups?
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• Groups battle for legislator time and attention
so that they can have the opportunity to
define problems that affect their members.
• Legislators listen because…
o Legislative subsidy
o Campaign contributions -$$$$$$
o Public trust
o External validity
Legislative Influence
Organized Interests
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- Technical expertise
- Reports, Data
- Policy implementers & enforcers
- Powerful allies for organized interest
groups
Legislative Influence
Administrative Agencies
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Problem Definition &
Policy Narratives
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• The process through which actors in the
political process define a social problem.
• “Struggle over alternative realities.”1
• Contest and debate the problem in the
political sphere based on perceptions
Problem Definition
What is problem definition?
1THE POLITICS OF PROBLEM DEFINITION: SHAPING THE POLICY AGENDA (David
A. Rochefort & Roger W. Cobb eds., 1994) [hereinafter ROCHEFORT &
COBB]
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• Narrative used in the policy sphere to
structure and communicate our
understanding of the world.
• Resembles fictional narratives:• Characters
• Plotline
• Ending
• Judged on (1) credibility and (2)
believability
Policy Narrative
What is a policy narrative?
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Credibility• Experts
• Scientific or empirical evidence
Believability • Degree to which the narrative resonates with cultural and
societal norms
• The familiarity of the plotline (recycled plotlines)
• The degree to which the character descriptions coincide
with the audiences’ perceptions of that character from
their life experiences and encounters
Policy Narratives
Credibility & Believability
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• A type of narrative
• Rhetorical, tool of persuasion
• Describes cause of the problem• Often action or inaction by the characters
• Assigns blame
• Assigns benefits
Policy Narratives
What is a causal story?
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Data &Methods
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• I conducted a search in WestlawNext of
all congressional hearing testimony
between 2014-2016, using the key terms:
opioid, addiction, overdose, heroin,
fentanyl.
• I then omitted hearing transcripts that did
not address the current opioid epidemic
Data:
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• Qualitative Content Analysis:• Sampled testimony & created categories
• Applied categorization to remaining texts.
• Adjusted categories. (Iterative process).
• Software: QDAMiner5
Methods:
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Content Analysis: Guiding Theory
Deborah A. Stone, Causal Stories and the Formation of Policy Agendas, 104 Political Science Quarterly 281 (1989).
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Results
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Implicit vs. Explicit Causal
Stories
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Implicit vs. Explicit Causal
Stories• Explicit Causal Stories
• Explicitly discussed the cause
• Intentional Causal Theories:
• Drug manufacturers intentionally misrepresented properties of
prescription opioids.
• Doctor’s intentionally prescribed opioids.
• Bad Apples:
• Doctor Dealers
• Doctor Shoppers
• Intentional Diversion
• Inadvertent Causal Theories :
• Act was intentional, but the harm was unintended.
• Doctors were driven by Pain as a 5th vital sign,
misrepresentations of pharmaceutical manufacturers that
drugs were safe, etc.
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Implicit vs. Explicit Causal
Stories• Implicit Causal Stories
• Did not unequivocally state the cause of the Opioid Epidemic, but
rather implied the cause through their support for a particular solution
and statistics
• Strategic Benefits:
• Did not point fingers avoids political ramifications of angering a
powerful group
• Shifted the focus of the discourse to the effectiveness of the
desired solutions
• Consequences:• Little to no discourse on discovering what the cause of the
epidemic is
• Superficial understanding; acceptance of causal as facially true
without much scrutiny
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Supply vs. Demand
Narratives
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Supply vs. Demand Side Causal Stories
Over Prescription
Diversion
Patient Education
Lack of Treatment
Brain DiseaseImportation
Supply Narratives: The availability of addictive drugs
causes problem drug use.
Demand Narratives: The focus should be on remedying
what causes the user to demand the drugs.
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Supply vs. Demand Side Causal Stories
Over Prescription
DiversionBlamed
Medical
Community
Blamed the
System: 5th
Vital System
Importation
Blamed
Pharma.
Blamed
Bad
ApplesLeft-over
Prescriptions
Blamed Mexican
Cartels
Blamed Chinese
Manufacturers
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Supply: Over-Prescription
Over Prescription
Blamed
Medical
Community
Blamed the
System: 5th
Vital System
Blamed
Pharma.
Blamed
Bad
Apples
Ca
us
es
So
luti
on
s • Prescriber
Education
• Regulation
• Oversight
• System
Reform
• Find Opioid
Alternatives
• Identify
Bad
Apples:
PDMPs
• Punish
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Supply: Diversion
Diversion
Blamed
Bad ApplesLeft-Over
Prescriptions
Ca
us
es
So
luti
on
s • Identify Bad
Apples:
PDMPs
• Punish
• Drug Take-back
Programs
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Supply: Importation
Importation
Mexican
CartelsChinese
Synthetic Drug
Manufacturers
Ca
us
es
So
luti
on
s • Border
Control
• Criminal
Justice
Enforcement
• Regulation of
online drug sales
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Supply vs. Demand Side Causal Stories
Lack of
Patient EducationLack of Treatment Brain Disease
• Public Awareness
Campaigns
• Fed. Admin.
Agency
Involvement
• Fund Treatment
System (Ambiguous)• Increase Access to
MAT
Cau
ses
So
luti
on
s
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What does this analysis tell us?1. Groups did not spend much time debating the causes superficial
explanations that were accepted as true.
2. Most of the purported causes used to explain the epidemic were SUPPLY
oriented Supply oriented solutions dominated.
• Downplayed criminal justice supply oriented solutions & substituted health
actors for criminal justice actors
3. The public health oriented causal theories and solutions were ambiguous &
piecemeal.
• Little to no discussion about ..
• what might be wrong with the treatment system (aside from too little
MAT)
• the socio-economic, psychological, behavioral, & environmental factors
that cause/correlate with spikes in problem drug use.
“Safety & Disease Approach” or “Assistentialism”
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Why does this matter?
• U.S. drug policy lags behind other developed countries.
• European Council & ALICE RAP: 200+ scientists, 5 years, 29
disciplines
• YSA, et. al. – policy analysis of EU nations
• Trendsetting countries did NOT emphasize supply
reduction.
• Trendsetting countries did…
• Define the problem as multi-factor & resulting from
both societal, behavioral & biological factors
• Emphasize public health harm reduction
• Prevention
• Well-being
• Coordination amongst social welfare agencies:
housing, employment, job skills, access to
healthcare, etc.
• The New Governance of Addiction: Gold Standard,
recommended “well-being approach”
TAMYKO YSA, ET AL., GOVERNANCE OF ADDICTIONS: EUROPEAN PUBLIC POLICIES (2014).