Running head: REFLECTION PAPER

Interview Reflection Paper

Jeremy D. Williams
Georgia State University

REFLECTION PAPER

2
Abstract

This paper is intended to detail my interview with an individual in older adulthood who has some
experience dealing with the problem we have been analyzing throughout this class which in this
case would be drug abuse. This paper seeks to get ideas, resources, attitudes, and other relevant
information, about the social challenge to further explore it and understand it. Due to confidentiality the
name of the person interviewed will not be used and instead a fake name or no name at will be used in
reference to the interviewee. It is my hope that after reading this paper individuals will have a better
understanding of the problem at hand and how it effects individuals lives.

REFLECTION PAPER

3
Interview Reflection Paper
Whats the problem

Despite the growing number of elderly individuals in this country, this population is often
marginalized and or completely ignored within our society today. Because if this populations
lack of presence sometimes it is not at all crazy to learn that some of the preventable problems
this group faces today have been exacerbated by inattention and negligence from politicians and
society at large. The situation occurring now with this population is comparable to the AIDS
epidemic during the Regan Administration. During those first years of the epidemic that
devastated the gay community he didnt even publically mention the words AIDS even though it
was killing thousands of his citizens. The drug abuse problem that is now facing the elderly
population is one that is completely preventable if the rights steps are taken now.
Analysis1
Through our research it became very clear that there are very different problems facing young
and middle adulthood than the ones facing individuals in late adulthood. One very distinct
difference is the difference in drugs abused. For example, according to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, daily marijuana use among college-aged young adults is at its highest since 1980,
surpassing daily cigarette smoking for the first time in 2014. But due to very few studies being
done the information regarding older adulthood drug abuse is largely either dated or obscure, but
according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse older adults who rely on fixed incomes are
more likely to abuse another persons medication to save money. If you take that into account
and also consider information from the National Council on Aging that says one-third of senior
households has no money left over each month or is in debt after meeting essential expenses,
then we clearly see there is a problem there that no one is willing to acknowledge.

REFLECTION PAPER

4
Personal Experience Impact

The interviewing process for this project was intimidating because in my situation the
person I had the pleasure of interviewing was in late adulthood and we were interviewing at her
home. The person I interviewed was Ms. Wilson who not only was a former service provider for
the elderly but also seen some of it occur in her own family. The interview took place on April 1,
2016. When asked about drug abuse in the elderly population she was more than willing to share
her experience and information with me. When asked about rather or not she thought there was
such a problem within the community she stated Even though Ive never seen too much of it
personally I wouldnt doubt the problem exists. When asked to explain further she told me
about a woman she knew personally who was abusing pain pills she had received after a surgery.
To keep getting the medicine the woman would go to her doctor and complain about pain even if
there wasnt any, it got so bad that she starting abusing not only other medications, but illegal
drugs as well. When asked rather or not she thought her generation at a young age used more
drugs then current generations she stated she though they use drugs at about the same rates.
Conclusion and Future Study
In order to truly understand the depth and seriousness of the issue more studys need to
be conducted on drug abuse in the elderly population. Plenty of research has been done and is
being done on the drug problems of our nations youth but very few on a population that needs
just as much if not more protection than children. This includes studies on not only the types of
drugs being abused, but also trying to figure out what factors puts the elderly at more of a risk to
abuse as well as possible prevention methods. As the older adulthood population becomes larger
and larger in coming year due to the increase in life expectancy it will become even more
essential to have such vital information at hand to address the problems of this community.

REFLECTION PAPER

5
References

College-Age & Young Adults. (2015). Retrieved April 10, 2016, from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/college-age-young-adults
Older adults. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2016, from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/prescription-drugs/trends-inprescription-drug-abuse/older-adults
Poverty Facts About the Elderly | NCOA. (2015). Retrieved April 7, 2016, from
https://www.ncoa.org/news/resources-for-reporters/get-the-facts/economic-security-facts/