Prescription drug misuse among adults in Canada: a scoping review

Background: Generally, substance misuse is associated with young people, however there is a growing concern on the rates of prescription drug misuse among older adults. This review aims to assess the extent of the prescription drug misuse problem among older adult Canadians. Methods: A scoping review was carried out following the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and Google scholar databases were used to carry out the search. Retrieved articles were assessed for relevance against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results were reviewed to identify major findings. Results: 840 abstracts were reviewed, and 13 articles were included in the scoping review. Key findings are as follows: (1) misuse of prescription drugs is more prevalent among users who used other substances, (2) prescription misuse is positively associated with cannabis use, (3) adults exposed to prescription drugs at hospitals are likely to misuse prescription drugs in the future, (4) prescription drug misuse negatively influences the continuation of medication-assisted treatment, (5) reasons for non-medical prescription drug use include sleep, pain, stress, and nausea. Conclusion: Prescription drug misuse is a problem among adults, but little attention is paid to older adults. To better understand this problem and create age-specific interventions more research in the area of prescription drug misuse among older adults and motives for misuse needs to be thoroughly studied.