Created to help aging services providers learn more about alcohol and medication misuse and mental health problems in older adults and to help them address these issues more effectively.

Alcohol and medication misuse and mental health conditions can be significant problems for older adults. Our growing life expectancy, coupled with the aging of the Obaby boomO generation make the need to address these issues more critical than ever before. As with other age groups, by preventing these problems from occurring in the first place, and by addressing them promptly when they do arise, we can enhance the lives and health of millions of older Americans. The Get Connected Toolkit was created to help health and aging services providers learn more about alcohol and medication misuse and mental health conditions in older adults so they can address these issues more effectively. It has been designed to help health and aging services providers undertake health promotion, advance prevention messages and education, and undertake screening and referral for mental health conditions and the misuse of alcohol and medications.

Alcohol and medication misuse and mental health problems are significant issues for older adults. In fact, substance misuse among older adults is one of the fastest growing health problems in America. Most people over 65 do not use illegal drugs, but almost 20 percent of older adults misuse alcohol, over-the-counter medicines, and prescription drugs, most often unintentionally. Physiological changes in older adults can render alcohol and medications harmful at doses lower than those used by younger people. Many older adults are unaware of this fact. Few are aware, for example, that the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recommends no more than one alcoholic beverage a day for men over 65 and somewhat less than that for older women. With longer life expectancies, more older adults develop chronic diseases, and therefore more depend on prescription medicines. Although people over 65 account for 13 percent of the U.S. population, they receive 25 to 30 percent of prescriptions. Many of these prescriptions are for depression and anxiety, and an estimated one in four older adults has symptoms of mental disorders at some point. Perhaps not surprisingly, more than half of hospitalizations of older adults result from adverse drug reactions.

The Get Connected Toolkit curriculum was developed to increase awareness of alcohol & medication misuse & mental health issues in older adults. It can instruct aging services providers in how to use the toolkit. The guide provides: an overview of medication, alcohol, & mental health issues in older adults; a description of the toolkit contents; & a 5-step process on how to use the kit to teach staff & older adults about these issues. Sections: Program Coordinator's Guide; & Program Support Materials: Education Curricula, Fact Sheets & Handouts, & Forms & Resources.

Evidence from both local and national surveys suggests that substance misuse and abuse among older adults in the United States is a "hidden epidemic" that poses a major threat to the welfare and quality of life of older drinkers and their families, and has significant public health implications. Based on their findings from a 10-year, NIH-funded study of retirement, aging, and substance misuse, Peter Bamberger and Samuel Bacharach examine the complex web of factors contributing to the precipitation and exacerbation of substance problems among older adults. They discuss the individual and public health implications of such problems, as well as some of the evidence-based steps that may be taken to prevent their emergence and help those in need of assistance for policy-makers and health practitioners. This book provides a single-source review of the latest research assessing the magnitude and costs of older-adult substance abuse, as well as detailed analysis of the epidemiology of older-adult substance abuse. The authors provide an analysis of the efficacy of alternative prevention and treatment strategies, and present scientific evidence in a user-friendly format, highlighting extensive interview data to accompany their statistical results. The illustrations offered by these real life cases not only provide a sense of richness and understanding to a complex issue, but also offer a fitting reminder to the reader that this is an issue affecting people we know and families like our own.