Assessing the Usability of Web-Based Alcohol Education for Older Adults: A Feasibility Study

Background Older adults can experience unfavorable health effects from drinking at relatively low consumption levels because of age-related physiological changes and alcohol’s potentially adverse interactions with declining health, increased medication-use and diminishing functional status. At the same time, alcohol use in older adults may be protective against heart disease, stroke, and other disorders associated with aging. We developed “A Toast to Health in Later Life! Wise Drinking as We Age,” a web-based educational intervention to teach older adults to balance drinking risks and benefits. Objective To examine the intervention’s feasibility in a sample of community-dwelling current drinkers ≥55 years of age and examine its effects on their quantity and frequency of alcohol use, adherence to standard drinking guidelines, and alcohol-related risks. Methods Participants were recruited in person, by mail and by telephone between September and October 2014 from a community-based social services organization serving Los Angeles County. Once enrolled, participants were randomly assigned to the intervention or to a control group. The conceptual frameworks for the intervention were the Health Belief Model, models of adult learning, and the US Department of Health and Human Services guidelines for designing easy-to-use websites. The intervention’s content focuses on the relationship between drinking and its effects on older adults’ medical conditions, use of medications, and ability to perform daily activities. It also addresses quantity and frequency of alcohol use, drinking and driving and binge drinking. The control group did not receive any special intervention. Data on alcohol use and risks for both groups came from the online version of the Alcohol-Related Problems Survey and were collected at baseline and four weeks later. Data on usability were collected online from the intervention group immediately after it completed its review of the website. Results The 49 intervention and 47 control participants did not differ at baseline in age, ethnicity, medication use, medical conditions, or alcohol use and both groups were mostly female, college-educated, and in good health. Of the intervention participants, 94% (46/49) had little or no difficulty using the website, with 67% (33/49) reporting that they will change the way they think about drinking because of their exposure to the education. At the 4-week follow-up, the intervention group reported drinking less (P=.02). No changes between groups were found in quantity and frequency, adherence to recommended guidelines, or risk status. Conclusions Community-dwelling older adults are receptive to online alcohol education. To be most effective, the education should be included as a component of a larger effort consisting of screening and counseling preferably in a health care setting.