Elder justice advocates recognize the heavy toll the opioid epidemic has taken on older Americans. Many have become psychologically or physically dependent on these highly addictive and expensive drugs. Others have had prescriptions stolen by caregivers, family members, or others, leaving them to suffer or implicating them in crimes if prescriptions are used for illegal purposes. Others provide primary care of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, or other children whose parents are incarcerated, in treatment, or otherwise unable to provide care as a result of opioid addiction or related problems.
Reports
- Unseen Face of the Opioid Epidemic: Drug Abuse Among the Elderly Grows (Washington Post, 2018)
- New Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Reports Highlight Seniors’ Struggles with Opioids (AHRQ,2018)
- Raising Awareness and Seeking Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic’s Impact on Rural Older Adults (Health Benefits ABCs)
- Emergency Physician Identification of a Cluster of Elder Abuse in Nursing Home Residents (Annals of Emergency Medicine, 2014)
- Opioid Use in the Older Adult Population (Administration on Aging and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012).
- Opioid Crisis Takes a Toll on Rural Older Adults, Next Avenue,September, 15, 2017)
- Heartache, Pain, and Hope: Rural Communities, Older People, and the Opioid Crisis-an Introduction for Funders” Grantmakers in Aging.
- Summary of ACL Stakeholder Discussion About the Opioid Public Health Emergency
The growing number of grandparents raising the children of addicted parents in “grandfamilies” has paralleled the growth of the epidemic, according to Generations United. Small towns and rural places – home to about one out of four older Americans — are feeling some of the worst impact. |
Resources
Missouri’s APS Response to the Opioid Crisis
This article by the director of Missouri’s Division of Senior and Disability Services discusses the opioid crisis Missouri’s efforts to address how it was impacting Missouri seniors and persons with disabilities, and comments from front line staff on the impact of opioids on the clients that they serve.
Administration for Community Living - Opioids and Older Adults Fact Sheet
This Fact Sheet from the Administration for Community Living offers data and resources related to the Opioid Crisis for each state, including the age groups with the highest rate.
This article by the director of Missouri’s Division of Senior and Disability Services discusses the opioid crisis Missouri’s efforts to address how it was impacting Missouri seniors and persons with disabilities, and comments from front line staff on the impact of opioids on the clients that they serve.
Administration for Community Living - Opioids and Older Adults Fact Sheet
This Fact Sheet from the Administration for Community Living offers data and resources related to the Opioid Crisis for each state, including the age groups with the highest rate.
Promising Practices
AmeriCorps and Senior Corps Respond to Nation’s Opioid Epidemic
This article outlines the steps being taken by the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) to help combat the national opioid crisis. This article and accompanying Fact Sheet outline the CNCS plan to invest “more than $10.5 million in opioid-related AmeriCorps and Senior Corps projects to address the current epidemic. The federal investment supports 1,200 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members in more than 150 communities across 45 states. (From the CNCS Newsroom)
Opioid Abuse in Chronic Pain — Misconceptions and Mitigation Strategies
This article from the New England Journal of Medicine discusses: chronic pain not caused by cancer, the source of the opioid epidemic, why opioid medications are diverted and abused, opioid tolerance and physical dependence, and mitigation strategies.
This article outlines the steps being taken by the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) to help combat the national opioid crisis. This article and accompanying Fact Sheet outline the CNCS plan to invest “more than $10.5 million in opioid-related AmeriCorps and Senior Corps projects to address the current epidemic. The federal investment supports 1,200 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members in more than 150 communities across 45 states. (From the CNCS Newsroom)
Opioid Abuse in Chronic Pain — Misconceptions and Mitigation Strategies
This article from the New England Journal of Medicine discusses: chronic pain not caused by cancer, the source of the opioid epidemic, why opioid medications are diverted and abused, opioid tolerance and physical dependence, and mitigation strategies.