Evaluation of Australia's first older adult-specific early intervention for reducing alcohol-related harm

The aim of the present case study was to evaluate the service-wide implementation of Australia's first older adult-specific early intervention called Older Wiser Lifestyles (OWL). OWL was designed to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm among people identified as being at risk. OWL used the Australian Alcohol-Related Problems Survey (A-ARPS) to classify people's drinking patterns as non-hazardous, hazardous or harmful. Participants of the present study were aged ≥60 years and consumed alcohol in the past month, although they did not require treatment for dependence. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption (AUDIT-C) was used as a composite measure of alcohol consumption. Data were collected before intervention and 3 and 6 months after intervention. In all, 140 clients were screened and attended at least one appointment (54% male; mean (± s.d.) age 72.8±7.6 years). Generalised estimating equation (GEE) examined the correlations between the intervention groups, time point and outcomes of interest. At 6 months, significant reductions were observed in A-ARPS classification (P=0.001) and AUDIT-C scores (P=0.001) among all clients, regardless of the number of sessions or intervention group. These preliminary findings warrant a randomised clinical trial of the intervention. Until this is completed, Australian health care providers should still consider the early intervention to reduce the risk of alcohol consumption among older adults.