Data Can Save Lives by Vikas

Data Can Save Lives by Vikas - January 2024 Scholarship Essay

The opioid epidemic has created unfortunate circumstances for families across the United States. According to the CDC, from 1999-2021 645,000 people died from an overdose involving an opioid. Because the drug landscape has impacted so many individuals, I knew that I wanted to help reduce the severity of this issue. As a substance use disorder epidemiologist with my public health department, my work involved researching the disparities in opioid overdoses in my community and implementing solutions to reduce the burden of overdoses. Specifically, developing the Austin Public Health Opioid Overdose Dashboard was a significant contribution towards the community awareness of trends.
Along with my supervisor, I was part of a group that helped create a dashboard highlighting data on nonfatal and fatal overdoses, naloxone administration, and opioid use disorder treatment. My role involved finding the data sources and analyzing the datasets to determine the total numbers of overdoses seen in the county and doses of naloxone used. While I may have not directly reversed overdoses, I knew that the data analysis I did would help the public understand the scope of the opioid epidemic in their community. I am also grateful for my team members’ input in the process as their perspectives helped create a comprehensive dashboard. Overall, I am proud of the work I was able to accomplish during my work as an epidemiologist and I hope I can inspire others to continue to work in reducing opioid overdoses in their communities.
Furthermore, this experience helped shape my desire to pursue a career in medicine. I learned crucial information about how common drug use is and why I want to help persons who use drugs. As a nontraditional student who graduated from university 5 years ago, I knew that my next step in life would be to become a doctor. As a future physician, I hope to incorporate the values and knowledge I gained from my epidemiology work so that I can provide the best treatment and rehabilitation options to my patients.