Substance Abuse Among Older Adults: Part 1 E136B

Course Summary

This course offers practice guidelines for the identification, screening, assessment, and treatment of the elderly for alcohol abuse and abuse of prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs. Discusses outcomes and financial, ethical, and legal issues. This is part 1 of a 2 part series.

Course Format

This course contains downloadable online lessons (PDF) and a practice test. When you’re ready, purchase the course by clicking the “Add To Cart” button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

• Identify incidence of alcohol and drug use among older adults
• Discuss age-related changes which affect the way an older person responds to alcohol
• List clinical characteristics of early onset problem drinkers
• Explain problems associated with opioid prescriptions for older patients

Course Syllabus

1. Substance Abuse Among Older Adults: An Invisible Epidemic
   1. The Problem Projected
   2. The Problem Now
   3. Older Adults’ Unique Vulnerabilities
   4. Barriers To Identifying and Treating Older Adults With Substance Abuse Problems
2. Alcohol
   1. Alcohol and Aging
   2. Classifying Drinking Practices and Problems Among Older Adults
   3. Drinking Patterns Among Older Adults
   4. Risk Factors for Alcohol Abuse
   5. Concomitant Substance Use
3. Use and Abuse of Psychoactive Prescription Drugs and Over-the-Counter Medications
   1. Evolution of Psychoactive Prescribing
   2. Patterns of Use
   3. Risk Factors for Misuse and Abuse of Psychoactive Drugs
   4. Adverse Effects
   5. Interactions With Other Drugs and With Alcohol