Substance use and addiction is an increasing problem amongst older people. The identification of this problem is often more difficult in older patients and is frequently missed, particularly in the primary care context and in emergency departments, but also in a range of medical and psychiatric specialties.
Substance Use and Older People shows how to recognise and treat substance problems in older patients. However, it goes well beyond assessment and diagnosis by incorporating up-to-date evidence on the management of those older people who are presenting with chronic complex disorders, which result from the problematic use of alcohol, inappropriate prescribed or over the counter medications, tobacco, or other drugs. It also examines a variety of biological and psychosocial approaches to the understanding of these issues in the older population and offers recommendations for policy.
Substance Use and Older People is a valuable resource for geriatricians, old age psychiatrists, addiction psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and gerontologists as well as policy makers, researchers, and educators. It is also relevant for residents and fellows training in geriatrics or geri-psychiatry, general practitioners and nursing home physicians.
Author Biography:
Ilana Crome, Emeritus Professor of Addiction Psychiatry, Keele University, Keele, UK; Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Stafford, UK; Honorary Professor, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK; Senior Research Fellow, Imperial College, London, UK Li-Tzy Wu, Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA Rahul (Tony) Rao, Visiting Researcher, Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK and Lead for Dual Diagnosis, Mental Health of Older Adults and Dementia Clinical Academic Group, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK Peter Crome, Honorary Professor, Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK; Emeritus Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Keele University, Keele, UK
