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Illegal Sources of Prescription Drugs for Illicit Use Among Older Adults in New Jersey: An Analysis of Sociodemographic Predictors
Prescription drug abuse among older adults is a growing problem in the United States and the increasing relevance of aging Baby Boomers for public health warrants research. Existing data indicate growing rates of prescription drug abuse by older adults, yet the literature leaves notable gaps, including how older adults access prescription drugs and the extent to which they engage in illegal acts to obtain them. This study explores perceived social connectedness and illegal obtainment of prescription drugs among a community sample of adults aged 60 and over.
Methods
Data for this study come from the New Jersey Older Adult Survey on Drug Use and Health, a community-based survey of 801 randomly selected New Jersey adults aged 60 and older. The survey was completed as part of the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s effort to encourage use of epidemiological data and the development of sustainable, community-based coalitions to implement environmental strategies for substance abuse prevention. Respondents were randomly sampled and interviewed via telephone. The final sample was modestly adjusted by age cohort and county for an accurate cross-section of the state’s population age 60 and over (+/ -3.5 percentage points). Interviews lasted approximately 19 minutes and consisted of multiple validated measures assessing self-reported levels of health, social connectedness, and use of tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, and non-medical prescription drugs.
The sample for this study includes only respondents reporting current use of prescription drugs (n=626) and was primarily female (57%) and white (97%) ranging from 60 to 95 years old. Almost three-quarters (75.5%) of respondents reported living with a spouse, slightly over half (53%) reported being married, 24% widowed, 10% single, and 10% divorced.
Respondents reporting any non-medical use of prescription drugs were asked to indicate the ways they obtained them with answer choices including “I wrote fake prescriptions,” “I stole the prescription drug from a doctor’s office, clinic, hospital, or pharmacy,” and “I bought the prescription drug on the internet.” The responses were dichotomized as “obtained legally” or “obtained illegally”. The data indicate that 18.6% of the sample procured prescription drugs illegally.
A series of nested logistic regressions was performed next. The first model is a bivariate regression of illegal obtainment of prescription drugs on perceived overall social connectedness. The second model includes demographic variables; the third model includes mental and physical health indicators.
Results
The analysis shows that an individual’s perceived overall social connectedness had a significant, negative association with illegal obtainment of prescription drugs. Increased age had a significant, positive association with illegal obtainment of prescription drugs.
Conclusions and Implications
This exploratory study highlights the need for researching illegal prescription drug procurement by older adults with social connectedness as a possible buffer against these behaviors. Public health implications include understanding drug abuse among older adults and related health and legal concerns. Illegal procurement should be understood as a risky behavior among this population.