Mahendia Neeraj, Joseph Jaison, Arya Sidharth, Devi Rajeshwari
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
College of Nursing, AIIMS, Bibinagar, Telangana, India.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2025 Jan 27:02537176241312264. doi: 10.1177/02537176241312264.
India has witnessed a gradual increase in substance use among the elderly, driven by the country's aging population and evolving demographic trends. There remains a lack of scientific foundation regarding the efficacy of brief intervention among older adults in the context of low- and middle-income countries. The current study explored the effectiveness of nurse-led brief intervention to reduce risky substance use patterns among the elderly in the Indian context.
The present study is a pilot randomized trial with assessments conducted before and after the intervention at 4-week intervals. The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was used to detect changes in risky substance use, and the intervention was based on the ASSIST Brief Intervention Protocol. The study setting was a government-funded elderly citizen club, which was conveniently selected.
Out of the 80 contacted participants, 60 subjects were enrolled, evenly divided between intervention and control groups. The mean age of the sample was 69.80 years (SD = 4.2). Although there was some difference in post-follow-up scores, we did not observe a significant benefit for the brief intervention in reducing risky substance use among the elderly in this setting ( > .05).
The study demonstrated a reduction in risky substance use patterns among the elderly population in both the intervention and control groups. Future trials should adopt rigorous methodological approaches to provide robust clinical evidence for implementing similar interventions aimed at enhancing the well-being of elderly individuals in this setting.
随着印度人口老龄化和人口趋势的演变，该国老年人物质使用情况逐渐增加。在低收入和中等收入国家的背景下，针对老年人的简短干预效果仍缺乏科学依据。本研究探讨了在印度背景下，由护士主导的简短干预对减少老年人危险物质使用模式的有效性。
本研究是一项试点随机试验，在干预前后每隔4周进行评估。使用酒精、吸烟和物质使用筛查测试（ASSIST）来检测危险物质使用的变化，干预基于ASSIST简短干预方案。研究地点是一个方便选取的政府资助的老年公民俱乐部。
在联系的80名参与者中，60名受试者被纳入，平均分为干预组和对照组。样本的平均年龄为69.80岁（标准差=4.2）。虽然随访后得分存在一些差异，但在这种情况下，我们未观察到简短干预在减少老年人危险物质使用方面有显著益处（>0.05）。
该研究表明干预组和对照组中老年人的危险物质使用模式均有所减少。未来的试验应采用严格的方法，为实施旨在改善这种情况下老年人福祉的类似干预措施提供有力的临床证据。
