Alcohol use in the elderly causes or exacerbates common medical and psychosocial conditions including heart disease, stroke, falls and depression. We propose to develop and test a computerized system to diagnose presence of and risks for alcohol related conditions in the elderly. The computerized system (CARPS) will consist of (1) a machine-readable questionnaire (the Alcohol-Related Problems Survey: ARPS); (2) algorithms based on 398 indications of harmful hazardous, and non hazardous drinking selected by a national panel of Experts and tested in 700 persons; (3) computer software linking ARPS' results to appropriate algorithms; and (4) reports for study participants and providers. Focus groups of participants and experts in geriatrics will design report forms. We will test CARPS in a health setting. CARPS will be the only available automated system for the elderly that uses clinically meaningful, evidence- based algorithms. It will be useful in health and social senior settings and to managed care organizations concerned with identifying preventable and treatable health problems. The program generating CARPS reports will interface with other via an ASCII file format, so the product can also be used for quality improvement and research as well as for clinical care. Phase 2 will test CARPS' impact on alcohol-related behaviors and health services utilization.
CARPS can be used in health settings where the concern is to efficiently diagnose alcohol use disorders in the elderly. These include physicians' offices and medical clinics, senior centers, continuing care communities, psychiatric in-patient and out-patient settings, social work settings, home health care contexts, and emergency departments. Managed care organizations and health insurers are particularly concerned with efficiency and will find the product beneficial. CARPS can also be used to quality improvement activities and research as well as in clinical care.
