Methods
This study was given favourable ethical approval by Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee
(application no. 000224/2009). In line with the terms of consent to which participants agreed, the data are not publicly available.
In-depth interviews (n= 24, 12 male, 12 female) were conducted between 19/11/09 and 15/03/10 by GW, a researcher with extensive experience of qualitative research on interventions for families or substance use. Purposive sampling aimed to recruit both genders and represent a broad range of age and self-reported drinking, past or current. Participants aged 50 and above were sought in order to consider views both leading up to and following the transition of retirement, and to consider how problems after the age of 65 may arise in late working life. Three local branches of
a national charity aiming to improve later life (Age UK) and two
regional services for alcohol problems were given research
information leaflets. These explained the reasons and objectives
for the research; what was involved in participation; how
information would be handled and used; and who to contact for
further information. The leaflets were distributed to service clients
or volunteers who had experience of drinking alcohol at any level
of consumption. Staff members invited the clients to consider
participating in an interview, answered any questions they had
about the research and asked those who were interested to
complete and sign a consent form. GW contacted all potential
participants by telephone to arrange a single interview; both on
this call and prior to commencing interviews, the researcher
checked that the individual was familiar with the research leaflet,
answered any questions they had, reminded them of the voluntary
and confidential nature of participation and checked that they
were still happy to proceed. Initially 17 participants were
recruited; although heavy drinkers were not particularly targeted
in recruitment, most reported experience of dependence on
alcohol. One further form was received but this participant
withdrew consent without supplying a reason when contacted by
GW. We sought the perspectives of older people with a range of
patterns of consumption, in order to avoid over-representation of
very heavy drinkers. For this reason a second wave of recruitment
targeted only Age UK clients who drank but considered
themselves to have had no problems with alcohol. Strategic
‘snowballing’, whereby interviewees suggested other individuals
who could be invited to participate, added two further interviewees
who were not using services. This increased the sample to 24,at which point the research team agreed that data saturation had
been reached. Fifteen of these were recruited via Age UK, six of
whom were also involved with voluntary services for mental health
support. Considerable diversity was achieved (see Table 1).