New Substance Abuse Program Reaches Out to the Elderly

According to a Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) report of 1998, Americans over sixty-five use three times as many prescribed medications as the rest of the population. Eighty-five percent of older adults take at least one prescription daily. Seventy-six percent take more than one. Over forty percent of older adults do not follow directions in taking their prescriptions.

The CSAT report identified several factors that account for much of the misuse/abuse:

        Older adults have higher rates of prescription drug use.

        Older adults are more sensitive to alcohol and prescription drugs and may continue consuming alcohol in quantities that were once appropriate but can be detrimental later in life.

        Physiological changes, including mental illness, and other diseases that can happen later in life.

In addition, older adults have a unique set of treatment needs. For one thing, they are more likely than younger adults to feel shame at having a problem. Older adults also feel most comfortable addressing their problems in groups of adults their own age. At the same time, older adults tend to isolate themselves by staying in their homes more than young people. Traditional approaches to substance abuse treatment frequently do not work with older adults. CSAT has recommended that the least intensive treatment options be explored first.

Until recently, substance abuse among the elderly has largely remained outside the scope of health care initiatives. Recently, both federal and state government have begun targeting substance misuse/abuse in the older population. River Region Human Services, Jacksonvilles largest provider of substance abuse treatment, has developed a new program of intensive outreach to the elderly. This initiative is being funded by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The primary goal of the program is to achieve medical compliance by participants in Duval, Clay, Baker, and St. Johns, and Nassau counties. Other goals of the program include:

        A reduction in emergency room visits.

        A decrease in the use of contraindicated medications.

        To educate senior citizens on how to take their medications properly.

        To provide an intensive medications monitoring system that is client driven and that can be replicated throughout the U.S.

Education and training will be provided in homes, senior centers, housing projects, and churches. Caregivers, social workers, and other supportive individuals will be trained to assist in the adoption of medical compliance models for the elderly. The program will:

        Identify and educate participants about proper use of prescribed medications.

        Coordinate the administration of medication with patients prescribing physicians.

        Follow-up with local hospitals regarding hip fractures, falls, and accidents.

        Provide community-wide training relative to the complications of medicating the elderly and the rising use of alcohol and other drugs by the elderly.

River Regions outreach to the elderly will promote wellness to a population that is often overlooked. It will also provide a mechanism for needed interventions by people other than primary caregivers and families. For more information call 904-899-6300.