New Issue Briefing Available on the Opioid Public Health Emergency and Older Adults

The Administration for Community Living has drafted a new issue briefing entitled The Opioid Public Health Emergency and Older Adults . It states that opioid misuse and addiction has become a national issue that extends to people of all ages, income classes, ethnicities, races, genders, and geographic areas. Older adults are included in this demographic because they frequently use prescription opioids to deal with painful chronic conditions, such as arthritis, or procedures, such as surgery. Chronic pain may spur older adults to use prescription opioids in the long term, which creates a risk for developing an opioid use disorder. Furthermore, as people get older, medications affect them more strongly and are slower to leave their systems, potentially increasing the severity of opioids' side effects. Death, hospitalization, and use of emergency departments are among the risks older adults face. The National Aging Network offers opportunities to teach older adults about opioids and bring them into contact with useful resources when they seek to reduce or eliminate use of opioids and obtain treatment if they have developed an opioid use disorder. Education resources are accessible from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Treatment resources include federal programs such as Medicare, which covers various treatments for substance use disorders. Medicaid treatment coverage also is available, while the Veterans Health Administration could help veterans access to treatments for the disorders and to non-opioid treatments for pain. The issue briefing is available here .