Raising awareness among the Elderly People about their alcohol Intake and Associated Risk

By

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction1

Rationale for a systematic review1

Ethical Concerns2

Background and literature review2

Development of the research questions5

Inclusion criteria5

Exclusion criteria6

Data synthesis7

Financial costs7

Proposed Budget8

Potential outcomes of the study8

Gantt chart8

Tentative time allocation per chapter9

Introduction

Alcohol-related diseases take up a large portion of health welfare expenditure. Every year billions of pounds are spent on the particular problem. The problem becomes increasingly alarming as it affects the elderly population badly.

Approximately 70 percent of the adult population consumes alcohol at least occasionally, and 10 percent drink daily. Data from the NIA Established Populations of Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) showed that, depending on the site, use of alcohol on a regular basis ranged from 46-68% for males and 23-51 % for females. About 60 percent of men and 30 percent of women have had one or more adverse alcohol-related life events. Together with the data on medication use, these statistics suggest that some concurrent use of alcohol and medications is inevitable.

Alcohol-related problems among the elderly are commonly reported in institutions and nursing facilities (Wilkins et.al, 2006, 57). Misuse of alcohol is often reported in veterans' hospitals, acute care hospitals, and is a leading cause of psychiatric admits among the elderly Additionally, alcohol misuse is reported in primary care settings such as general medical clinics, family practice clinics, and obstetrics and gynecology practices and in emergency departments . Moreover, as many as one out of two nursing home residents present with alcohol-related problems.

As described earlier, there are age-related physiological changes that decrease the volume of distribution systems so that the older person tends to develop higher blood alcohol concentrations at a given level of alcohol consumption than younger adults. This heightened physiological vulnerability, along with a greater potential for negative interactions between alcohol and medications, and the increasing proportion of older persons in the U.K. has made problem drinking among the elderly a high-priority issue in the alcohol research field (U.K. Department of Health and Human Services, 1989).

Once recognized as a problem, counselling, treatment programs, and education material have been shown to effectively produce change, particularly with older adults. Hence, public education and demonstration projects that target the elderly, caregivers and professionals in the field of gerontology are critically needed.

For the present study secondary research will be conducted through a number of sources, including libraries & the Internet. A number of libraries will be visited for gathering valuable data from textbooks & journals. The Internet will be also a major tool in obtaining relevant information, leading to search for a no. of articles in journals & newspapers from database.

Rationale for a systematic review

The research approach employed will be systematic. A systematic review is an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect report and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review.

It can be defined as the rigorous ...