Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2016)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016 Survey says … research is changing Founded in 1873 STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager Food is Astoria’s new big thing Astoria School District takes control of its food service sensitive topics that require and if they don’t recognize privacy. it, they don’t answer. Or if Partly in response to they do answer, they get off these challenges, research- the line as quickly as possi- ers have begun using pro- ble — often without wait- fessionally recruited and ing to fi nd out what the sur- maintained panels for regu- vey is really about. lar online surveys. The best A growing refusal to By ADAM DAVIS of these consist of people participate in surveys is the For The Daily Astorian of all different demograph- single biggest development ics and lifestyles, recruited the opinion-research indus- Adam through different means. pinion research has helped try is dealing with. The Davis Participants receive some government with planning upshot is that many more phone numbers are needed to com- form of compensation, similar to the and policymaking for decades. plete a valid, statistically reliable sur- honorariums offered to focus-group But the shifting technologi- vey — so many more that complet- participants. Long disdained by academics cal landscape, along with chang- ing a survey with a representative and telephone-survey purists, these sample of residents is impossible in ing demographics and lifestyles, panels nevertheless are becoming many communities. There just aren’t are challenging conventional opin- increasingly common. And done enough numbers to call. ion-research techniques, making it And when people do answer the well — using demographic quotas more diffi cult to learn what the pub- phone and agree to participate in a and statistical weighting to assure lic thinks. survey, it’s more diffi cult to keep representative samples — online Government offi cials need to them on the line as long as in the past. panels should be accepted as a legit- become aware of these changes and Our era of sound bites and 140-char- imate sample source for public-sec- their impacts on research acter tweets makes it hard tor surveys. In fact, they offer certain methodologies, validity, to complete the lengthy advantages over telephone surveys, The statistical relatability, cost questionnaires that gov- including the ability to display visu- and project timelines. offi cials are als, such as pictures and maps; to biggest ernment Telephone polling used to fi elding in their collect verbatim responses to open- has long provided pub- change? efforts to gather in-depth ended questions, yielding more valid lic offi cials with valuable content analysis; and to use tradeoff information. information. Phone sur- Well, The rise of the cell- techniques — pressing respondents veys have asked voters phone represents a third to choose between key variables about ballot measures for what do cultural shift. More than — that are not possible with tele- road-maintenance fund- 4 in 10 Americans rely phone-surveys. They are also less you do on ing; state or city residents cellphones alone with expensive. The evolution of new approaches about affordable-housing no residential landline, when options; neighborhood res- and the rate is even higher and blending conventional and new your idents about higher-den- among young adults and methodologies to adapt to and take sity development; and communities of advantage of social and technological phone some change is good news for government business leaders about the color. offi cials. Knowing what the pub- importance of promoting This change has made rings? survey research more lic thinks about what government is international trade. Focus groups and other forms expensive. Federal regula- doing — and is thinking about doing of qualitative research have sup- tions require that cellphone numbers — is as important as ever. Adam Davis, who has been con- ported survey questionnaire develop- be dialed manually, as opposed to ment and helped to elaborate survey using the auto-dialers that reach land- ducting opinion research in Oregon fi ndings. line numbers. Interviewers also must for more than 35 years, is a found- All of this is changing. screen respondents to ensure they are ing principal in DHM Research, a The biggest change? Well, what do in a safe place, and catch them when nonpartisan and independent fi rm in you do when your phone rings? More they are available to talk for possibly Portland and Washington, D.C. Visit and more, people look at the number an extended period about potentially www.dhmresearch.com Why it’s getting more diffi cult to learn what the public thinks O ews that two regionally sourced butcher shops plan to locate in Astoria marks a certain coming of age. Or per- haps it is the culmination of something tha t began some 25 years ago. Food is basic to human and across the Columbia in existence. So why is it that Pacifi c County. And beer we pay so much more atten- brewing — a form of food tion to it these days? The production — is rampant farm -to -table movement, the and proliferating. The Astoria School proliferation of farmers mar- kets and the national debate District has recently con- about genetically modifi ed tributed to the discussion by crops are elements in what ending its contract with the might be called America’s Vancouver-based food ser- vice fi rm Chartwells. Instead, food awakening. Astoria has become the district has hired a former remarkable among Oregon Coast Guard culinary spe- small towns for the number cialist. Michael Kelley will and range of its restaurants. oversee four cafeterias. With Chartwells, “We had That was not the case in 1990. As that decade began, no say in what is served,” said GUEST COLUMN there were no coffee vendors. Astoria Superintendent Craig One by one, these things Hoppes. Having its own top changed, beginning with a food manager will give the By MICHAEL SCHWARTZ former Starbuck’s employee school district control over For The Daily Astorian what Astoria students eat. who migrated to Astoria. ecently, President Obama Now we have a robust That should be good for outlined an ambitious $1 organic agriculture sector in nutrition and also for a more billion plan to fi ght the nation’s our midst — outside Astoria tasty cafeteria cuisine. N Opioid-addiction proposal is right step ing treatment for painkiller the Department of Health addiction increased by 900 and Human Services will percent. This spike is indic- double the limit, enabling ative of a trend we need doctors to treat up to 200 to promptly respond to. patients. Since the announcement This rule is just one of the federal plan, more that would respond to opioid epidemic. than 60 medical schools past issues regarding the have implemented policies The sizable budget allocated to limited availability of an requiring students to com- MAT medication. Patients the plan would increase the access plete some form of pre- have previously reported Michael to substance abuse treatment pro- scriber education. These needing to travel hundreds Schwartz grams to those who would otherwise of miles in order to receive programs will be devel- fi nd paying for and locating suitable the care they require. This is incred- oped in line with the newly released treatment beyond their means. ibly unfortunate, given the effective Centers for Disease Control and Pre- What’s essentially unique about and safe tools we have in our hands vention guidlines. In my practice, I’ve learned that a this plan is its acknowledgment of as physicians. With the increased evidence-based drug treatments patient limit, care will be come more lack of training often results in doc- tors prescribing opioids for long- as the life-saving entities they are. widely available. It is a plan that will now rightfully The health department has also term pain control. But the ultimate expand the use of medicated-assisted released new funding to commu- goal for physicians should be to pro- treatment (MAT) and educate physi- nity health centers across the United vide temporary relief and then begin cians on how to properly prescribe it. States to help increase addiction to identify and treat the underlying For those unfamiliar with the treatment services. This particu- sources of pain. This line of thinking term, MAT is the use of medications lar initiative will focus on expand- is what enhanced training procedures in conjunction with behavior ther- ing MAT for opioid use disorders can bring about and, consequently, apies to provide a comprehensive in underserved areas. That is to say result in increased prevention of opi- approach to the treatment of sub- nearly 124,000 patients will, for the oid overdose. Overall, the government’s stance use disorders. fi rst time, have MAT as a treatment The medications used option for their opioid use expanded access to evidence-based treatments like MAT and improved in this type of treatment disorder. Our — buprenorphine, meth- In addition, the Sub- education for doctors could be a sav- adone, naltrexone, nalox- stance Abuse and Mental ing grace for many addicts. My hopes are that Congress one — are all FDA-ap- ‘war on Health Services Admin- and other federal entities can work proved. Studies have istration will be releasing drugs’ an $11 million funding together to put these initiatives into found that using these medications to treat needs opportunity for 11 states action. This means supporting a full opioid addiction has to not only expand their continuum of care for addictive ill- to shift MAT services but pro- nesses as is provided for any other decreased drug use and overdose risk, as well as clinicians with addi- chronic illness, such as both outpa- focus. vide reduced the transmission tional training and guide- tient and inpatient treatments. Our “war on drugs” needs to of infectious diseases and lines for prescribing MAT shift focus and fi ght to ensure evi- criminal activity in opioid -addicted medications. patients. Of course, improved treatment dence-based treatments reach those Yet today, only 40 percent of isn’t the only way to fi ght opioid who need reinforcements for their the 2.5 million Americans who addiction rates, and this is recog- battles against addiction. Dr. Michael Schwartz is a board could benefi t from MAT are actu- nized by the Obama administration. ally receiving it. With Obama’s new According to research published in certifi ed addiction medicine spe- funding, this number is set to change. the Annual Review of Public Health, cialist and staff physician at Sun- Currently, physicians need to the widespread increase in opioid spire Health Astoria Pointe, where be certifi ed to prescribe buprenor- addiction cases was due to overpre- he oversees the detox program in phine and can only treat up to 100 scribing of painkillers. In fact, since addition to leading his own private patients at a time. A proposed rule by 1997, the number of Americans seek- practice. R GMOs are not the villain some believe T he controversy over genetically modifi ed organisms will make an inter- esting chapter in some future historian’s cultural analysis of our time. Rarely have so many worried so much about so little. That is the underly- ing message of a omni- bus study released this week by America’s pre-em- inent National Academy of Sciences. The academy found GMOs — largely seed crops designed to survive weed and insect sprays, or imbued with other theoret- ically useful traits — aren’t risky to eat. This fl ies in the face of a favorite phobia of modern Western civilization — that genetic tinkering will in some manner turn around and bite us, a trope that fuels count- less movie and television scripts. To give worrywarts their due, carelessly monkey- ing around with the genetics of germs would warrant such concerns. But tweaking corn and soybeans in minor ways ought to be close to the least of our concerns. On the other hand, the national academy also punc- tured much corporate hype touting GMOs. GMO crops aren’t a game-changer when it comes to enhancing crop yields. “The expectation from some of the (GMO ) proponents was that we need genetic engineering to feed the world, and we’re going to use genetic engineering to make that increase in yield go up faster. We saw no evi- dence of that,” said the leader of the academy study. This month also saw judicial rejection of local GMO bans in Jackson and Josephine counties in Southwest Oregon, based on a state law the preempts such activism. Neither a magic bul- let for world hunger nor a Frankensteinian threat to our existence, GMOs are a distraction from far more important basics of agri- culture. These include such unglamorous topics as soil conservation, protection of farmland from urban and des- ert encroachment, improving worldwide distribution net- works to stave off famine and ensuring the adequacy of fresh water supplies. We should care about what our families eat and the con- sequences of food production for earth’s plants and animals. However, it’s time to breathe easy about the easy villain of GMOs, and instead refocus on agriculture’s fundamental practices and ethics. Where to write • U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D): 2338 Rayburn HOB, Washing- ton, D.C., 20515. Phone: 202- 225- 0855. Fax 202-225-9497. District offi ce: 12725 SW Millikan Way, Suite 220, Beaverton, OR 97005. Phone: 503-469-6010. Fax 503-326- 5066. Web: bonamici.house. gov/ • U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D): 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building, Wash- ington, D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224- 3753. Web: www.merkley.senate.gov • U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D): 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Web: www.wyden. senate.gov • State Rep. Brad Witt (D): State Capitol, 900 Court Street N.E., H-373, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1431. Web: www.leg.state. or.us/witt/ Email: rep.bradwitt@ state.or.us • State Rep. Deborah Boone (D): 900 Court St. N.E., H-481, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1432. Email: rep.deborah boone@state. or.us District offi ce: P.O. Box 928, Cannon Beach, OR 97110. Phone: 503-986-1432. Web: www.leg.state. or.us/ boone/ • State Sen. Betsy Johnson (D): State Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E., S-314, Salem, OR 97301. Telephone: 503-986-1716. Email: sen.betsy john- son@state.or.us Web: www.betsy- johnson.com District Offi ce: P.O. Box R, Scappoose, OR 97056. Phone: 503-543-4046. Fax: 503-543-5296. Astoria offi ce phone: 503-338-1280. • Port of Astoria: Executive Director, 10 Pier 1 Suite 308, Asto- ria, OR 97103. Phone: 503-741-3300. Email: admin@portofastoria.com • Clatsop County Board of Com- missioners: c/o County Manager, 800 Exchange St., Suite 410, Astoria, OR 97103. Phone: 503-325-1000.