Project
Research
University
of Maine Center on Aging
|
Project
Partners |
Project
Sponsor |
Healthy
Hancock Collaborative
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Bucksport Bay Healthy Communities
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Coastal
Hancock Healthy Communities
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Healthy
Peninsula Project
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Healthy
Acadia Coalition
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The
Maine Office of Substance Abuse
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Project
Dissemination |
AdCare
Educational Institute |
The Hancock
County Needs, Resources, and Readiness Assessment on
Older Adult Binge and Chronic Drinking is a two-year
research and dissemination project conducted by the
University of Maine Center on Aging. The first year
of this project (2005-2006) consisted of project research
activities designed to examine the impact of older adult
alcohol abuse in Hancock County, the resources available,
and the readiness of communities to bring those resources
to bear on the issue. The Center on Aging in collaboration
with our project partners at the Healthy Hancock Collaborative
and the AdCare Educational Institute designed and carried
out the following research plan:
12 focus groups
with approximately 74 participants were held in Blue
Hill, Bucksport, Ellsworth, and Mount Desert Island
with older adults, caregivers, and professionals.
A statewide survey of professionals,
selected at random from the fields of counseling, substance
abuse, and social work, was conducted. Out of the 1,000
surveys mailed, 220 were returned representing a 22%
response rate.
Key informant
interviews were conducted with key informants throughout
Hancock County and Statewide to elaborate further on
focus group and survey findings.
Secondary
data analysis was conducted using currently available
statistical sources including: hospital data, substance
abuse treatment data, crime statistics and arrest data,
and other relevant healthcare data available through
national and statewide studies.
Two core research
questions have guided the research phase of this project:
- To what degree is there a particular set of individual
and/or organizational factors contributing to an increased
incidence of alcohol abuse among older adults in the
state of Maine, generally, and Hancock County, in
particular?
- How can alcohol abuse prevention and treatment services
be designed for older adults such that access, utilization,
and efficacy are maximized while minimizing discrimination
and stigma to the individual?
A full outline of project findings can be found in our
fact sheets and final report available on our Publications
and Reports page.
Year two of
this project (2006-2007) will include dissemination
of project findings statewide and nationally through
various methods including: posting of findings on the
web via the UMaine Center on Aging website, the AdCare
Educational Institute website, and the Maine Office
of Substance Abuse website. Prelminary project findings
were presented at the Maine Gerontological Society Annual
Conference on June 1, 2006 and final project findings
will be presented to policymakers, professionals, and
other interested parties at the Maine Office of Substance
Abuse summit to be held in September 2006. Fact sheets
will be constructed from project findings and posted
on both the UMaine CoA website and the Maine Office
of Substance Abuse website.
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