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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 30 page paper provides an overview of this issue. Since the late 1990s, social workers, psychologists and therapists have noted an increase in the reported cases of substance abuse among the elderly. Some have argued that substance abuse among the elderly has not increased, but views of the impact of substance abuse on factors like health care costs and maintaining support mechanisms for the elderly have created a "spotlight" on the issue. Bibliography lists 15 sources.
Page Count:
30 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MH11_MHEldAdd.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
substance abuse among the elderly has not increased, but views of the impact of substance abuse on factors like health care costs and maintaining support mechanisms for the elderly have
created a "spotlight" on the issue. Others suggest that increasing access to street drugs and prescription pharmaceuticals have increased access to substances to be abused, and those vulnerable often
utilize substances as a means of self-medication for conditions like depression. The American population is aging, and as a result, the focus on issues like substance abuse for the
population in general requires specific consideration of the problem for the elderly. One of the factors that make substance abuse for elderly populations more difficult to assess and treat
is that most elderly addicts abuse substances that are readily available to them, including alcohol and prescription drugs. As a result, there is rarely a criminological element to the
study of substance abuse in elderly populations; instead, there is a need to assess how individuals utilize readily available substances and how their abuse of these substances impacts the quality
of life. In conjunction, then, treatment programs for the elderly often focus on therapeutic models and educational systems to define awareness of substance abuse issues for readily available substances
like alcohol. Alcoholism and Prescription Drug Abuse The elderly population is the fastest growing demographic group in the United States. "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the
year 2000, 35 million Americans, or 13% of the U.S. population, were age 65 or older. By the year 2030, this number is expected to double to 70.1 million, or
20% of the population" (Menninger, 2002). It is extremely difficult to measure the prevalence of substance abuse among the elderly as it often
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