Community behavioral health services and addiction recovery in older adults

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2020), nearly 1 million older adults aged 65 and older live with a substance use disorder (SUD). Survey findings from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 10.7% of older adults reported binge drinking in the last month, 2.5% reported heavy alcohol use in the last month, and 1.3% reported misuse of opioids during the past year (American Addiction Centers, 2023). The total number of substance abuse treatment admissions slightly increased between 2000 and 2012; however, the percentage of admissions for older adults markedly increased from 3.4% to 7.0% (Chhatre et al., 2017). Substance abuse in older adults is rapidly growing in the United States. It is considered one of the fastest-growing health problems due to the drastic increase in recent years and the lack of education provided to health care providers (Chhatre et al., 2017).