Substance Abuse among Older Adults - Research Paper Example

? Substance Abuse among Older Adults First and of Substance Abuse among Older Adults Introduction Upon the face of the earth, there have been numerous cases of substance abuse recorded. This malignant abuse of substances causes number of deaths. Substance abuse led many facilities and service providers to address the problem. Since early 2000, persons aged 55 and older had been found to have used illicit drugs and mostly were older adult men. Further, over 6 million had been reported to be alcohol users (“Substance Abuse Among,” 2001). Drugs prescription is one of the commonly abused substances, and led to the death of most elderly persons. Older adults who are affected by this abuse are seen with negative effects. Some of them were not given treatment and remained untreated until they die. Thus, this paper seeks to investigate how services and facilities--designed to at least save the patients from death--are delivered. Further, this paper identifies commonly abused substances and their effects. Commonly Abused Substances 1.1 Alcohol Alcohol use among older adults is not rare as it is one of the causes of severe diseases to them. In the United States, there is an approximately 2.5 million older adults that have been found out to be alcohol drinkers, and 21 percent of hospitalized adults aged of over 40 have been diagnosed of alcoholism (Blow, 1999). Not only older men have been found to be alcohol drinkers but also women, and became more dependent to alcohol. Myers et al. (1984 as cited in Blow, 1999) stated that older men are more inclined to alcohol drinking than older women. Dependency on alcohol becomes a serious problem but is not given proper attention and treatment. Older adults, who drink alcohol whether in a binge or heavy manner, have seen to have negative psychological and emotional experiences. Alcohol drinkers can be of two classifications, binge drinkers and heavy drinkers as far as the frequency of alcohol intake is concerned. Blow (1999) further stated that binge drinkers are those people who drink alcohol occasionally like once per week while heavy drinkers consume alcohol as often as daily or five drinks per week (p. 22). However, no matter what the frequency is, the problem still lies on the alcohol dependency among older adults. Alcohol, as a substance, is being abused by elder men and women and strikingly became leading causes of fatal diseases like cancer, diabetes, and liver illnesses. 1.2 Cigarette and Tobacco Cigarette and tobacco are widespread in the whole world and have been taking its rank to the top place of most deadly substances. These substances are known to be the leading cause of lung cancer. Not only younger people are likely to get deadly diseases but most especially the older ones, as their body are not that strong in terms of immunity. Most deaths in the United States were driven by tobacco smoking and are increasing every year. One out of every five Americans died because of their excessive tobacco use. In addition, survey indicates that the number of older adults who use tobacco or cigarette have declined after reaching the age of 65 and over (Blow, 1999, p. 25). Although the number has sharply decreased, actually this does not mean that the problem with smoking was eradicated. 1.3 Drugs Older adults in their dawning age are likely to intake drugs which are intended to cure their sickness, but a large number of them have been found out to use drugs not prescribed by physicians. This contributes to the aggravating cases of substance abuse, and must be brought to a greater concern. In addition, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment found out that in the year 2000, 25-28 percent of older adults used a psychoactive medication, and 20 percent took a tranquilizer on a daily basis (Blow, 2002 as cited in Yoshida, 2006). Further, illicit drugs are also widespread anywhere in the globe. According to Jinks and Raschko (1990 as cited in Yoshida, 2006) prescription drug abuse has reached an average percentage ranging from 30 percent to 50 percent. This only shows that drugs are being misused and abused by older adults. These authors noted that elders aged 55 and older took psychotherapeutic drugs to which they are not prescribed to use. In addition, these drugs became the second most commonly abused illicit drug such as marijuana--more common than any other (SAMHSA, 2005 as cited in Yoshida, 2006). Meanwhile, the following are some of the psychotherapeutic drugs: benzodiazepines (antidepressants, opiate/opioid analgesics, sedative/hypnotics etc.) (Blow, 2002 as cited in Yoshida, 2006). Abusive use of these drugs can be risky and even lethal when combined with alcohol. Blow (1999) stressed that alcohol has the power to increase lithium toxicity. It can also lead to increased central nervous system depression in older adults who are using trycylic antidepressants (e.g., Nortriptyline, Imipramine, and Amitriptyline) (Meiner, 2005). Factors and Reasons That Contribute to Substance Abuse People vary on their needs for medication especially older adults as their bodies are more vulnerable to sickness. But some are not getting the right and sufficient amount of those medications which they need while some take much-- referred to as substance abuse. Some older adults think that their intake of prescribed drugs is just right, but at the end of the day, they and their family realize that it’s too much--they are addicted. It is true that too much of something is dangerous, as a matter of fact, it kills. As the number of substance abuse related cases increases, the number of deaths also increases. However, there are factors or reasons why people or older adults are abusing these substances. One of these is older adults are not aware of the adverse effects of the medication they take; it might be that they believe they need more of it because their body is still vulnerable. Psychoactive drugs are substances which are used by some to relieve stress, pain, or to gain pleasurable experience. These can have adverse effects that can lead to loss of sense of consciousness and mood, and alters human thoughts (GreenFacts, 2006). According to Alters and Schiff (2010), people who use psychoactive drugs such as tobacco, alcohol, canabis, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin etc. are actually good at making reasons to justify their addiction. Significantly, it can be noted that not only the younger ones are addicted to these substances as far as recorded history is concerned. Since before, there have been cases of substance abuse particularly on psychoactive drugs among older adults aged 55 and older. As mentioned earlier, when older adults are in great depression or are experiencing psychological and emotional problems and experience, some would tend to take alcohol and illicit drugs--and even commit suicide if not controlled. Other factor like curiosity contributes to substance abuse, and is stimulated by agents like movies and advertisements (Alters & Schiff, 2010, p. 167). It could be that younger ones are more influenced to aforesaid factors but older adults are not spared by its cunning call. Harmful Effects In every harmful substance there is/are a harmful adverse effect. When an individual takes in something bad, consequently, he or she will be likely to get an illness. Indeed, medications and some drugs are created because they are intended to cure diseases. But if they are used out of a physician’s prescription and guidance, this time substance abuse would bring hazardous impact on the human system. Now, some adults do not know the effects of taking psychoactive or psychotherapeutic drugs. Human body is comprised of numerous systems which function according to its purpose. However, if one system contains elements which come from the aforesaid substances, most probably, other systems will be affected. It might be that there will be malfunctions on some organs and sensitive brain cells. In addition, those substances once reached human system will undergo detoxification and intoxication processes. Actually, it is in the bloodstreams that these substances flow. Detoxification takes place when the body converts harmful substances into less dangerous compounds which are later excreted “out of the body in the form of feces or urine.” On the other hand, intoxication is a process that takes place when these substances--even just a little amount of it--go into the poisonous levels in the body. Its effects are actually manifested in outward appearance of a person with signs and symptoms like slurred speech, poor muscular coordination (affected person may experience difficulty in performing physical activities e.g., jumping and running), and mental confusion (Alters & Schiff, 2010, p. 166). Additionally, an overdose may also occur if there is an excessive amount of harmful substances like drugs present in the body; it also defeats the function of the liver to detoxify and store toxins. Other adverse effects include severe damage of the nerve cell and death to sensitive and essential part of the brain cells (Ramage et al., 2005 as cited in Yoshida, 2006). The risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and many other sexually transmitted diseases is high when humans take in illicit drugs (Fingerhood, 2000 as cited in Yoshida, 2006). All of these are just some of the many harmful effects of using psychoactive drugs and other substances. Treatments and Services Unfortunately, not all of the affected patients are given proper treatments and services necessary to address substance abuse related problems and illnesses due to several factors: some Health care providers are just disregarding the problems of substance abuse and misuse among older people; wrongful detection and identification of its symptoms for depression, dementia, and other illnesses and problems common to older adults. Meanwhile, for drug dependents, a treatment called Methadone maintenance is given in order to treat patient’s addiction to illicit drugs like opiates. It also acts as reducer to seemingly uncontrolled cravings and appetite to take drugs (Alters & Schiff, 2010, p. 182). Another treatment is called outpatient drug-free programs which are primarily designed to give patients with medical care, and counseling and psychotherapy approaches--which allow them to stay with their families as well as to live normally in the community. Additionally, services like self help-groups are also available to speed up recovery of drug dependents--meetings are held and joined by them who seek relief professional help. However, according to The U.S Surgeon General (2005), treatment of substance abuse and dependence in older adults include a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions. This is done together with the help and support of the families of the patients attending in self-groups (Blazer, 1996 as cited in The U.S Surgeon General, 2005). Further, service delivery to the patients and to their families is not well implemented because of some barriers like insufficiency of proper treatments due to large number of affected older adults; service delivery is often fragmented and divided among many systems of health; and government policies are not fully implemented. Consequently, older adult patients are not treated and turned to worse condition. Meanwhile, there are other approaches which can be utilized in helping patients healed: motivational enhancement which is designed to increase the level of motivation of the patients through their family, member of the self group, and the clinician as well; cognitive-behavioral therapy which aims to understand things that can lead to substance use; and the twelve-step facilitation which involves the goal to increase the participation of the patients to heal (Galanter & Kleber 2010). Recommendations Older adults who suffer severe pain, depression, anxiety, and other factors that cause a person to feel uncomfortable must be given services and treatment appropriately in order to avoid worst conditions. However, when treating a disease or disorder like insomnia, the symptomatic treatment must “be limited to seven to ten days with frequent monitoring and reevaluation” of the condition of the patient (Blow, 1999). This is to ensure that he or she is receiving enough amounts of medication “if the prescribed drug will be used for more than two to three weeks”--to avoid overdoses (Blow, 1999). In addition, it is recommended that older adults aged 60 years old should undergo alcohol and prescription drug screening or rescreening in order to monitor his or her health condition. It must become part of the older adults’ physical examination (Blow, 1999). References Alters, S., & Schiff, W. (2010). Essential concepts for healthy living. US: Jones & Barlett Learning. Blow, F. C. (Ed.). (1999). Substance abuse among older adults: Treatment improvement protocol. US: DIANE Publishing. Galanter, M., & Kleber, H. D. (2010). Psychotherapy for the treatment of substance abuse. US: American Psychiatric. GreenFacts. (2006). Scientific facts on psychoactive drugs: Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit substances. Retrieved from http://www.greenfacts.org/en/ psychoactive-drugs/index.htm Meiner, S. E. (2005). Gerontologic nursing. US: Elsevier Health Sciences. Substance use among older adults. (2001, November 23). The NHSDA Report. Retrieved from http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k1/olderadults/olderadults.htm The U.S Surgeon General. (2005). Understanding mental health issues. US: Cosimo Inc. Yoshida, R. (2006). Trends in alcohol abuse and alcoholism research. New York: Nova Publishers. Read More