- aarp.org/personal-growth/life-stories/info-11-2010/addiction-i-am-an-addict.html
- aarp.org/personal-growth/life-stories/info-11-2010/addiction-what-to-tell-kids.html
- aarp.org/personal-growth/life-stories/info-11-2010/addiction-intervention.html
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Nancy Perry Graham, Editor and Vice President Ken Budd, Executive Editor
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
January/February 2011 issue
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The numbers were shocking: In December 2009, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that nearly 4.5 million Americans age 50-plus had recently used an illicit drug–and that the ranks of boomer “problem substance abusers” would swell to 5 million by 2020. Forget romantic images of the freewheeling ’60s: The Woodstock generation was facing a crisis. Though our 35 million readers turn to AARP The Magazine to feel better–physically, financially, and emotionally–we knew that many families were confronting the challenges of elder substance abuse. To meet those challenges, our story had three goals: to help readers cope with the effects of addiction, to reassure them that others are struggling with the same issues, and to awaken the nation to this growing problem. The resulting piece was a powerful mix of in-depth reporting and poignant profiles, including subjects such as Ron Dash, a then-52-year-old addict whose family staged an intervention in the story’s unforgettable opening scene. This honest, insightful moment–Dash agreed to get help after his young son carved the words “I DON’T HAVE A DAD” on a closet door–perfectly captures why this story was so successful. We approached a still-stigmatized topic in a forthright, nonjudgmental way, weaving in expert advice with powerful anecdotes. Service-oriented sidebars told readers how to talk with their children and grandchildren about addiction, how to stage an intervention, and how to get one’s insurance company to pay for treatment.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Over several months of reporting this story, the writer gathered numerous documents and online articles. For statistics, she drew heavily on those compiled by the federal government, particularly SAMHSA. Other statistics came from very close reading of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and data from the Drug Enforcement Agency. The writer also read many, many academic research studies about addiction, looking in particular for studies about older adults. FOI and public records requests were not required.
Explain types of human sources used.
The writer first assumed that statistics would be easy to obtain but that willing sources would be hard to find. She was wrong on both counts. While willing sources didn’t come out of the woodwork, when she did find them, they were willing to talk, sometimes for hours. She interviewed people addicted to substances, along with those recovering from addiction and their families. She also interviewed researchers and medical professionals, including Fred Blow, Ph.D., a leading researcher on aging and addiction and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. To a lesser degree, she interviewed public policy sources.
Results:
Treatment centers and recovery experts embraced the article. “Kudos on your excellent story,” wrote the founder of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Health groups such as LifeSource, a nonprofit health organization, and the Kennebec Substance Abuse Center in Maine reprinted the piece online. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, read the story and followed up by holding meetings with seniors, discussing painkiller addiction and telling them how to dispose safely of prescription painkillers to avoid spreading what can be a fatal addiction. (One-third to one-half of children and teenagers who start using narcotics get them from family medicine cabinets.) Readers also posted the article in forums (soberrecovery.com), recommended it to others (wellsphere.com), and blogged about it (breakingthecycles.com and more). After our story ran, similar pieces aired on CBS Channel 2 in New York City and AARP’s own Inside E Street news show. Readers wrote us as well. Gary C., nine months sober, reported receiving treatment at 56: “I was surprised at the number of men and women my age and older who were also confronting their addictions for the first time,” he wrote. “I hope your article lets people understand no matter what your age help is there, along with a new beginning.”
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections or clarifications were needed.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Prescription drug abuse has received quite a bit of attention in the last few years; we think it’s safe to say that the public is at least somewhat aware that the problem is enormous, among all ages. Somewhat less attention has been paid to the question of how doctors can safely treat chronic pain and the usefulness of narcotic painkillers for those who don’t abuse them; it’s a worthy area for exploration and one where doctors don’t necessarily agree with one another (and policies differ from clinic to clinic, hospital to hospital and state to state). The public policy issues surrounding the growing use of narcotics in this country are many, including how physician organizations can create sane guidelines for pain management; how states authorize (or don’t authorize) prescription monitoring programs; how well those programs work to stop doctor shopping while avoiding privacy intrusions; the business interests that encourage addiction (enormous amounts of money are being made by pharmaceutical companies); the chipping away of treatment providers over the last two decades; the effect of this growing addiction on the world of work; and on and on. These are all topics worthy of attention in related articles. Finally, when looking for sources, our writer consciously chose not to visit 12-step meetings because she would have visited under false pretenses. Instead, she reached out on LinkedIn, with surprising success, and she tapped her email network and asked friends to pass on her inquiry. She also had good success asking treatment providers to refer patients or former patients, with the understanding that we would provide anonymity if necessary (which was not our first choice, of course). We would recommend these methods when looking for sources for other related stories.