tudy is to: (a) determine the scope of alcohol usage among older females between 62 and 76 years of age; and (b) determine whether usage significant differs as a function of differences in subject demographics of marital status, age, educational level, and yearly income.
Significance of the Study for Nursing
Statistics published by the Office of Technical Assessment (1983) indicate that alcoholism is responsible for up to 15 percent of this nation's health care costs, a figure totalling several billion dollars per year. Since older people are already a large part of the population being served by health care agencies and institutions, it can be seen that effectively addressing the problem of alcohol abuse in this population is imperative on the grounds of fiduciary concerns. However, alcohol is also associated with staggering emotional costs to the elderly. According to Rogers (1982), it figures prominently in the profiles of many depressive older adults and depression is considered to be one of the primary psychiatric problems confronting older adults.
It is reasonable to assert that in order to effectively address the problem of alcohol abuse among the elderly, the general scope of the problem must be known. The proposed study is significant for the nursing profession be
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