Reaching and Supporting At-Risk Community Based Seniors: Results of a Multi-church Partnership. J Community Health 2018 Oct;43(5):920-928
Date
04/28/2018Pubmed ID
29700663DOI
10.1007/s10900-018-0506-0Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85045905258 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 1 CitationAbstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a nurse-led, church-based educational support group for "at-risk," older African Americans on hospitalization and emergency department use. Study nurses enrolled 81 "at-risk" older adult members of ten churches. Participants completed a trifold pamphlet identifying personal health information and support, and they attended eight monthly educational/support group sessions in their church during the 10-month intervention. Study nurses completed a risk assessment interview with each senior both pre- and post-participation. The study nurse completed post-program assessments with 64 seniors, a 79% retention rate. At the program's conclusion researchers conducted a focus group with the study RNs and used an anonymous written survey to gather participant appraisals of program elements. Neither hospitalization nor emergency department/urgent care usage was significantly different from pre- to post-program. Session attendance was moderate to high and over half of the seniors brought a family member or friend to one or more sessions. The majority of seniors initiated positive health changes (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss, or diet changes). Participants expressed high satisfaction and expressed satisfaction to perceive that they were supporting other seniors in their community. We conclude that this intervention was successful in engaging and motivating seniors to initiate health behavior change and contributed to a health-supportive church-based community. To demonstrate a statistically significant difference in hospital and ED usage, however, a stronger intervention or a larger sample size is needed.
Author List
Ellis JL, Morzinski JAMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedFaith-Based Organizations
Female
Focus Groups
Health Behavior
Health Promotion
Humans
Male
Program Evaluation
Religion and Medicine
Smoking Cessation
Weight Loss