Maintaining personal safety when working with methamphetamine abusers

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

James Randall Webber, MPH, Lighthouse Institute, Chestnut Health Systems, 720 W. Chestnut St, Bloomington, IL 61701, 309-820-3543 X83411, rwebber@chestnut.org

Various physical risks are associated with providing services to individuals who manufacture or use methamphetamine. Contact with an environment housing a illicit methamphetamine laboratory may result in injuries associated with fire, explosion, chemical burns, respiratory damage or assault by a member of the criminal subculture involved in the manufacturing process. In addition, methamphetamine users often develop paranoid psychoses that may result in aggression and violence. This presentation will prepare participants to recognize, both from outside and inside, structures that may contain a methamphetamine laboratory, identify behavior associated with methamphetamine intoxication and psychosis, assess an individual's potential for meth-induced aggression and violence, and develop a personalized safety plan that minimizes the service provider's risk of physical injury.

Learning Objectives:

A the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to

-Describe the risks associated with being a proximity to an illicit methamphetamine laboratory
-Recognize a meth lab from the outside of a structure
Recognize a meth lab from the inside of a structure
-List the signs of methamphetamine intoxication
-Describe the cause and nature of the methamphetamine psychosis
-Recognize signs of impending violence in methamphetamine-involved individuals
-Develop a personalized plan for maintaining personal safety when working with methamphetamine-involved clients

Keywords: Drug Abuse, Risk Assessment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Issues in Treating Substance Abuse Poster Session

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA