Alcohol and medication use among older people, 1991

The impetus for this study came from questions about the ways in which drug-related problems among elderly patients were identified and treated. The survey involved an investigation of patterns of use of alcohol, tobacco and psychotropic medication by hospital patients aged over 65, problems related to their substance use and the patterns of recognition and referral for these problems. It was envisaged that this survey would be the first stage of a larger project investigating patterns of non-harmful, hazardous and harmful use of alcohol and other drugs by older community residents with a view to developing appropriate intervention strategies. Variables covered include reason for admission, history of previous admissions, recent medications, whether the patient lives alone, regularity of meals, tea and coffee consumption, recent accidents, smoking, alcohol consumption, stress, use of drugs to cope, perception of alcohol/drug problem by others or self, and a brief assessment of mental status. For a randomly selected group of 67 patients, questions about the patient's use of medication, cigarettes and alcohol were also answered by a relative or the patient's general practitioner. Background variables include age, sex, ethnicity, and geographical region.
Alcohol and Medication use among older people, 1991 has 3 data files: 00626.dat is the main survey file; 00626a.dat is the alcohol file; 00626b.dat is the audit file.