Opioid

This issue brief explores the results from NCOA's survey on how the opioid epidemic impacts older adults and their caregivers. The brief explains the survey methodology, discusses key findings, and proposes recommendations for the aging network.

This report assembles opioid-related information from the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. This allows the general public and the family and friends of people with an elevated risk of opioid overdose, opioid misuse, and/or opioid use disorder to view all of this information in one place. The report goes over the current landscape, reviews the neurobiology of substance use, and discusses the continuum of care and the role of health care systems.

This study asked adults age 50-80 about their use of opioids for pain management, perceptions of opioid policies, and the education they received about the drugs and their disposal. More than one in four older adults (29%) said they filled a prescription for an opioid pain medication for themselves within the past two years. Nearly half had leftover opioid medication, raising important concerns about misuse or abuse and highlighting the importance of communication with healthcare professionals.

Older adults are affected by the opioid public health emergency because they often use prescription opioids to cope with painful chronic conditions or procedures. This issue briefing provides a summary about the problem, treatments, federal strategies to address the crisis, and funding and programs that are addressing this issue. The briefing also highlights innovative programs to address the opioid public health emergency in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Hampshire.