MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

With the rapid expansion of the older population and the increase in the cost of medical care, community programs that focus on illness prevention and risk reduction for older persons become essential. Because senior centers are the natural meeting places for millions of older persons, they may be perceived as fundamental sites for the development of such programs. The findings presented here offer the results of an evaluation of an ongoing health education program presented in several large senior centers in the New York area. The program consisted of regular classes, health counseling, and health screenings offered by one health educator to more than 7,000 elderly between July 1985 and June 1986. The evaluation of the program, based upon a model that hypothesized a casual link between the program and the participants' resulting health status and health behaviors, indicated that the program did have positive effects. The most significant changes were in the reduction of specific health‐risk behaviors among the program participants. In comparison to a group who had not participated in the program, the health education participants had significantly altered their diet, weight, and exercise level. Equally important is the fact that these persons attributed these changes to the health education program.