MEASURING ELDER ALCOHOL USE AND HEALTH PUBLIC HOUSING

Although there has been increasing attention to the negative health consequences of both lifetime alcohol abuse and current alcohol use for older adults, there is little consensus regarding (1) the prevalence and patterning of problem drinking in old age, (2) the natural history of alcohol-related health crisis and associated use of emergency medical services by elders, (3) the effectiveness of alcohol risk management and harm reduction strategies for older persons. At the same time, in direct contrast to research on alcohol and other substance use among adolescents, little is known about the roles of race/ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or peer and community influences on problem drinking in older persons. The primary objective of this proposed exploratory developmental project is to create a methodological and empirical framework to support secondary prevention studies aimed at this population. In particular, the proposed exploratory developmental project will collect and analyze data on very low income elder urban public housing residents to: 1) Assess the feasibility and validity of questionnaire measures of current problem drinking; 2) Explore the roles of problem drinking, social supports, health status, and health care access in emergency medical service use.