Older Drug Users: A Life Course Study of Turning Points in Drug Use [in a large Southeastern Metropolitan Area], 2009-2010

The Older Drug Users study was a mixed method, retrospective longitudinal study that interviewed 92 respondents in a large southeastern metropolitan area from January 2009 to August 2010. The goal of the study was to provide in-depth life history on the drug use trajectories of older drug users, specific turning points in drug use patterns, and drug-related health risks over a person's life course.
Quantitiave and qualititative data was collected from each respondent. Two questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data. The first questionnaire asked about the person's basic demographic information (gender, race, age, and education), health history (has the person been diagnosed with HIV, AIDS, or Hepatitis C), and drug use (route and frequency) and treatment in the past 30 days across ten different substances (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens/LSD/Ecstasy/club drugs, prescription pills, cocaine, crack, heroin, amphetamines, and methamphetamine).
A second questionnaire was used to serve as a retrospective life history of the person. The questionnaire asked about the same drug use and treatment of the same ten drugs but this time looking at the entire year. Questions were also asked concerning the person's living arrangement, employment, family roles, drug roles, and sexual activity over the course of the year. The questions were repeated for every year of the person's life from birth up to the time the person was interviewed.