HOME PAGE

IN THE NEWS

(Alcohol and mental health news articles)

SEEKING SOLUTIONS

BEST PRACTICES

•  Introduction

A Cross Canada Look at Helping Older Adults Who Are Experiencing Alcohol Problems

(PDF, 552 Kb)

UPCOMING EVENTS

PAST EVENTS

JOIN OPAAL (Older  Persons and Alcohol List)

TRIVIA AND QUOTES OF THE WEEK

BASIC CANADIAN STATISTICS ON OLDER ADULTS AND DRINKING

FRENCH LANGUAGE MATERIALS

• QUOI DE NEUF?

• LES RESSOURCES FRANÇAIS

• ORGANISMES FRANÇAIS CONCERNANT VIEILLIR OU ALCOOL

   

INFORMATION FOR OLDER ADULTS

• Is Drinking Alcohol Good for You?

• A "Standard Drink" and Low Risk Drinking Guidelines

• 8 Good Reasons to Cut Down

• Medication Information from Health Canada

• Seasons' Tips

• Test Yourself with COPA's handy drug misuse quiz  (External site)

AGING (GENERALLY)

• Older men and isolation

• Older women and isolation (External site)

ALCOHOL AND COMMON MEDICATIONS

• Benzodiazepines

• Drug Information Resources on the Internet

• Medication Interactions

• Medication Use New Brunswick

  • New Brunswick handout on medication (2002) (pdf)

• Medication Information Lines

• Alcohol and Medication Interactions handout (pdf)

• Herbal drugs

• Herbal drug advisories from Health Canada (External site)

• Medication information from Health Canada (External site)

ALCOHOL AND OLDER ADULTS' HEALTH

• Abuse and neglect  

• Abuse of Older Adult: Projects and Committees in the Province of Ontario. (External site)

• ShelterNet (External site, with safe havens for abused women)

• Connection between substance abuse and senior abuse (external site)

• Acetaminophen

• Anxiety

• Anorexia

• Arthritis

• Appetite

• Aspirin use

• Blood pressure

• Bones and Alcohol

• Brain Damage

• Breathing Problems (See also COPD)

• Cancer

  • Breast Cancer

  • Lung Cancer

  • Oral (Mouth) Cancer

• Caregiving 

• Chronic Pain

  • NACA ("Stop the Pain")

  (External site)

  • Pain Quiz

• COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

• Congestive Heart Failure

• Death and Dying (Burial Resources)

• Dementia

• Dental Problems

• Depression

  • Alcohol and Depression (pdf) (784KB) Requires Acrobat Reader

  • Depression brochure (PDF)

• Determinants of Health

• Diabetes

• Driving

• Elder Abuse

• Falls 

• GERD

• Gout

• Headaches

• Heart attack

• Herbal drugs

• HIV & AIDS

  • Among seniors (External site)

• Incontinence

• Injuries

• Liver (links to resources)

• Medication interactions 

  • Alcohol- Medication Interaction handout (pdf)

  • Drug Caution Codes

  • Niagara’s Medication Safety program (External site)

  • Acetaminophen dangers

   

• Memory (general effects)

  • Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care's interactive memory site (External site)

• Memory Impairments

• Men

  • Men's Health Peer Education (External site)

• Menopause

• Mental Health

1. Best clinical practices in mental health for older adults (External site, BC Health Authority)

2. CAMH's Addiction & Mental Health Indicators Among Ontario Adults (External site)

3. Mental Health Initiatives and Resources

4. Non medical approaches to seniors' mental health. (External site)

5. Writings on... Mental Health and Aging (External site)

6. Mental Health New Brunswick

• Mobility Problems

• Osteoporosis

• Pain  (see Chronic Pain)

• NACA publication:  "Stop the Pain" (External site)

• Pancreas

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Pneumonia

• Sexuality

  • Generally

  • NACA publication:  "Sex over Sixty" (External site)

  • LGBT older adults

  • HIV and AIDS among seniors (External site)

• Sleep   

  • Brochure information for seniors from Health Canada (External site)

  • Sleep Apnea Handbook: Mentions alcohol 11 times! (External site)

• Smoking (Also see Lung Cancer)

• Stroke

• Stomach problems 

• Suicide

• Vision loss

• Vitamins  (folate, B 6,  & B12)

• Weight Gain

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

• "A Role for Everyone"

• Guiding Principles for Service Providers Helping Seniors Who Have Alcohol Problems

• Guiding Principles

• Community Planning Checklist

• Common Community Misconceptions About Seniors and Alcohol

• Index to Community  Development

• Seniors Speak Out... About Loneliness

  •  Loneliness pamphlet (PDF)

• Community Planning and Community Development Report

CROSS CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

• France, Ireland

COUNSELLING (See Treatment)

DETOXIFICATION (See Treatment)

DEVELOPING EDUCATION AND PREVENTION

• A Calendar of Prevention and Education Activities  (2006)

• Developing Prevention Materials for Your Community (Brochure Tips)

• Literacy (External site)

• Understanding Health Literacy of Seniors

• More Tips for Developing Your Own Materials

• Tips for Sea Cruises

• Older Learners (Tips for Workshops)

• Tips for Informing Service Providers

• Prevention and Education by Seniors

• SWAP Players (External site)

• Presenting the Players: An Introduction  by Estela Torres

• Marie's Story

• "Dreams of Retirement" (script)

• Health Action Theatre by Seniors (External site)

• The Invisible Web (script by Derek West)

• Richmond Seniors Troupe

• Seniors Speak Out About ... Loneliness (PDF)

  Stigma

  • Are We As Caring As We Say We Are? by  Jennifer Barr

  • Seniors Speak Out About Stigma

  • 10 + Ways to Fight the Stigma of Alcohol Problems

   

DISCRIMINATION (Also see  Barriers to Treatment; Stigma)

ELDER ABUSE  (See Senior Abuse)

EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT

FAMILY

• Working with Family

• Caregiving

  • Other Resources for People Giving Care

GAMBLING Issues for Seniors (factors, studies, community counsellors and resource links)

• Canadian Problem Gambling Index

• Bingo Game

• Canadian Statistics

• Links, Programs, Research and Resources

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

HARM REDUCTION (also see  Alcohol Treatment)

• Best Practice

• Rice Wine

HOMELESSNESS

HOUSING

• Tips of the Trade (info for building managers)

INFORMATION FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS

• Addictions and the Older Person by Eileen McKee Kristof

• Assessment Tools

• Basic Statistics on Older Adults and Drinking

• "Geriatric Jeopardy"

• Guiding Principles

• How Common are Alcohol Problems Among Seniors?

• Identifying Alcohol Problems Among Seniors

• Myths and Realities

• Professional Attitudes

• Seniors Speak Out About...Stigma

• Seniors Speak Out... About Loneliness

• Social Isolation

• What is Typical Drinking for Seniors?

HISTORICAL LOOK AT ALCOHOL USE IN CANADA

• Did You Know?

• Historical Trivia

ISSUES FOR SPECIAL GROUPS OF SENIORS

• Older Long Term Users in Marginalized Communities

• Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender People

• Older Native Persons

• Older Women

  • Info Sheet from Women's Addiction Foundation (pdf)

  • Use and Misuse of Alcohol among Older Women (NIAAA, external site)

• Older People Who Have Disabilities

• Older People Who Are Homeless

• Older Asian and Other Eastern Groups

ALCOHOL TREATMENT AND OLDER ADULTS 

• Introduction (PDF version)

• Access to Services/Barriers to Treatment

• Assessment Tools

• What Tools are Appropriate for Assessing Problem Use in Older Adults?

• MAST-G

• Examples of Poor Quality Self Tests

ALCOHOL TREATMENT AND OLDER ADULTS  (cont'd)

• Alcohol Withdrawal (See also home detoxification, below)

  • pdf version

• An Introduction to Best Practices

• Antabuse & Naltrexone

• Backgrounder from National Meeting (Ottawa, 2001)

• Blood Tests

• "Brief Interventions"

• Canadian Treatment Programs for Older Adults Experiencing Alcohol Problems

• Avoid Confrontation

• Counselling

  • Outpatient

  • Outreach

• Depression & Alcohol

  • Geriatric Depression Scale (external site)

• Dual Diagnosis

• Discrimination

• Working with Family

• Grief

• Guiding Principles

• Group Therapy- Solution Focussed

• Harm Reduction Strategies

• Helping Early Onset Drinkers

• Home Detoxification (PDF)

• Identifying Alcohol Problems Among Seniors

• "Three Simple Questions"

• Mobility and Transportation as Barriers for Seniors Seeking Help

• Peer Counsellors

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Retirement Issues

• Quality of the Internet Alcohol Information Being Provided to Seniors

• Social Isolation

• Stages of Change

• Support Groups

• Tips for When You Have Older Clients…. Who Have Difficulty Seeing

• Making Good Use of Volunteers

• What Kinds of Messages Work for Seniors and Which Do Not.

LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES

• Ethics and avoiding covert coercion of clients.

• Power of Attorney and forced treatment of older adults  (External site)

• Special article on addictions, older adults and ethics. (Journal of Addictions and Mental Health, external site)

• NACA publication on Legal Issues Affecting Older Adults (External site)

• Power of Attorney

• Elder Law Resources

  • Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (external site, Ontario content)

  • Aging in Canada (legal issues site, BC content)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Book and Video reviews

• In the News

MORE IN THE NEWS (Miscellaneous news items related to aging and older people)

NURSING HOMES (ALCOHOL USE IN)

• Study on Alcohol Policies in Care Facilities

• Safehaven

• Psychotropic Drug Use in Skilled Nursing Facilities (External site)

OPAAL

POLICY ISSUES  (Drinking guidelines for healthy later life, getting reliable statistics, discrimination)

• Developing a National Strategy on Seniors and Alcohol Issues

• Highlights from CAMH's Addiction & Mental Health Indicators Among Ontario Adults.

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

• At Any Age, It Does Matter: Substance Abuse and Older Adults  (Prevention and treatment information for professionals) (External site)

• Gerontology, Aging, and  Counselling Courses offered in Canada for People Working with Older Adults

• Canadian University and College Courses on Substance Abuse

RESEARCH (Critical Research, and Good Research is Critical)

• Research News

• Making Sense of Research (Cochrane Consumers, external site)

• Making Sense of Alcohol Research

RESOURCES AND LINKS

• Seniors Programs and Benefits  

• Aging issues

RURAL ISSUES

SENIOR ABUSE

SMOKING

• Fire Risk

• Fire prevention Brochure for Mature Smokers

STATISTICS

• American Statistics on Older Adults and Drinking

• Basic Canadian Statistics on Older Adults and Drinking

• Highlights from CAMH's Addiction & Mental Health Indicators Among Ontario Adults.

• National Statistics (How many seniors are there in Canada?)

• New Brunswick Statistics  (external site)

  • Highlights from New Brunswick report

• Ontario Statistics

• United States: National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Released  September, 2003

STIGMA (see Education and  Prevention)

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT ALCOHOL ISSUES

• Alcohol and the Media

• Alcohol and Cooking

• Cultural Issues

• Institutional Issues

• Moderation: Who's Measuring?

• Alcohol Controversies