Recent projects: Ageing and Alcohol (2003-2004)
Ageing and Alcohol: a study commissioned by the three Ayrshire councils, the NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and the Ayrshire and Arran Drug and Alcohol team
Project team
Third Sector First (Mike Nugent and Ruth Hart) and Eskrigge Social Research (Roger Clough)
Project summary
The study was undertaken at the request of the three Ayrshire councils, the NHS Ayrshire & Arran, and the Ayrshire and Arran Alcohol and Drug Action Team (ADAT). Its purpose was to ascertain the extent to which alcohol is used and 'misused' by people over the age of 60 living in the three local authority areas; to identify the range of, and evidence for, problems arising from alcohol consumption; and to develop a set of evidence-based recommendations for the development, delivery and commissioning of services for older people.
Older people and alcohol has been the subject of minimal study. The work was commissioned against the backdrop of a growing interest at a national level in the effects of alcohol use and misuse, the Scottish Executive's recently published review of licensing laws, and the imperative provided by the 'Joint Futures' Agenda to improve the way health and social services in Scotland work together in the provision of community care and older people's services, particularly those enabling older people to remain in their own homes for longer.
Based on a review of the recent research literature, focus groups and individual interviews with service providers, older people and their carers, the researchers found that alcohol use can be both a cause and compensation for many of the difficulties associated with ageing. Even at low levels alcohol use in old age is more harmful than is generally understood; the study was commissioned to provide some clear, essentially practical, statements about how diagnosis, treatment, information and care services can be improved.
Two versions of the report are available for download in PDF format: The literature review for the project is also available.Publications