Publicity and information needs to be carefully considered and well-placed, both for interested professionals and older people themselves. Where information is aimed at older people, special attention needs to be paid to legibility. Also, suggest Goodman and Ward, the type of help offered should be described clearly since many older people will have less of an idea than most about what an alcohol agency is and how it works. Agencies need to ensure accessibility, since the majority of disabled people are elderly. They also need to evaluate user-friendliness, particularly in related to older women, who are likely to suffer from discrimination on two counts.
Privacy is especially important to older people.
Home visits may be appropriate. Lastly, older people do not form a homogenous group and, though many have special needs, a stereotype of socially isolated, withdrawn, poorly housed, ill people may prove unsuccessful in attracting older clients. Also, the confrontative approach often used with younger alcohol misusers was felt to be inappropriate to those older people coping with loneliness and bereavement. There is thus a need to target straightforward information about alcohol at the older population. Goodman and Ward suggest the use of pre-retirement courses as one option for achieving this.