Overview

Unsafe alcohol consumption puts older adults at particular risk for multiple health problems, accidents, and hazardous interactions with medications requiring increased services and health care costs. Aging Well is an innovative, mobile health promotion program covering a wide variety of health topics including a unique segment on alcohol and aging. Including the alcohol misuse content within a general wellness program greatly reduces the stigma that can be a powerful barrier to reaching heavy drinkers in older adults.

Approach

Aging Well is a mobile, innovative health promotion program designed specifically for adults over 65, accessible on laptop, tablet or smartphone. The program was developed by leading health behavior scientists and gerontologists, based on accepted principles and practices of healthful aging, and can be especially appropriate for groups of older adults who use alcohol. The engaging multimedia Aging Well program contains four major modules, including Your Health Profile (assessments of user’s health practices and status), Healthy Aging (focusing the central elements of the aging process), Staying Healthy (containing segments on sleep, healthy eating, exercise, stress and brain health) and Alcohol and Aging.

Evidence

An evaluation of the Aging Well program demonstrated that alcohol use by Aging Well participants, as measured by a quantity-frequency measure of consumption, decreased significantly over the course of the randomized trial. Further analyses suggest program effects on additional health measures, including coping with stress.