INCREASING SENIOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN A COMMUNITY‐BASED NUTRITIOUS MEAL PROGRAM¹

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to compare the effects of several prompting and reinforcement procedures on the participation of elderly citizens in a nutritious meal program. Experiment I employed a variation of the multiple-baseline design across three groups of approximately 60 households each. Elderly persons not previously participating in the program were introduced to the following conditions: (1) public service radio announcements for four weeks to advertise the meal program and the availability of free transportation, (2) a home visit that served as a personal invitation and a second prompt for participation, (3) a followup telephone call, and (4) an incentive menu for participation, which was sent through the mail. Results indicated that the home visits and incentives were both effective as recruitment procedures and superior to other conditions; however, incentives proved to be the most cost-effective intervention. Experiment II used a variation of the multi-element design to compare the effects of scheduled activities and incentives in maintaining higher levels of participation by those persons who had attended the meal program at least once in the past, but whose current rate of participation was low. Results showed that activities improved attendance levels somewhat and that incentives substantially increased the number of meal program participants. Data from these experiments thus indicate that relatively inexpensive procedures may be used effectively to increase the extent to which elderly persons make use of potentially beneficial community-based services.

Temporal effects of prompting on acceptance and follow-up in a community-based hypertension screening program

“…It is, of course, possible that these data reflect the combined effects of the reinforcement offer plus the educational newsletter prompts, since this design did not allow for the testing of individual versus combined effects. However, the negative findings with respect to public service announcements are consistent with previous data (Bunck & Iwata, 1978), indicating that their use is not very effective as a recruitment technique.…”

“…The results of comparative analyses (Bunck & Iwata 1978;Reiss et al, 1976) indicate that stronger effects would be expected with the use of either procedure. However, the present data do demonstrate that procedures similar to those not found most effective by Bunck and Iwata (1978) or Reiss et al (1976), but available at minimum cost, can produce beneficial program results.…”

“…The results of comparative analyses (Bunck & Iwata 1978;Reiss et al, 1976) indicate that stronger effects would be expected with the use of either procedure. However, the present data do demonstrate that procedures similar to those not found most effective by Bunck and Iwata (1978) or Reiss et al (1976), but available at minimum cost, can produce beneficial program results. We estimate that the procedures employed in this study (excluding cross-checking done for reliability purposes) could be implemented at essentially no additional cost in approximately two hours per week through the reallocation of secretarial or receptionist time.…”

“…Several recent studies have evaluated the effects of prompting, education, and reinforcement techniques on such health-related behaviors as exercise (Brownell, Stunkard, & Albaum, 1980), smoking control (Jason, Clay, & Martin, 1979), immunization of preschoolers (Yokley & Glenwick, in press), participation in nutrition programs for the elderly (Bunck & Iwata, 1978), and compliance with preventive dental practices (Iwata & Becksfort, 198 1;Reiss, Piotrowski, & Bailey, 1976). In general, results of these and other studies in the behavioral community psychology literature have suggested that techniques consisting of either impersonal or minimal prompts (e.g., public service announcements, notes) are not as effective as intensified (i.e., repeated, personal, or educational) prompts in improving participation, and that a combination of prompting plus reinforcement is likely to produce the most consistent positive outcomes.…”

Utilization Analysis of a Pedestrian Safety Training Program

“…Ideally, the necessity of the chosen intervention should be established by asking if all of the procedures in the recommended program are necessary for equally effective modification of behaviors. Reduction of the program to its functional components is critical since extraneous training efforts waste both valuable time and money, and financial constraints represent a potent dimension in the effectiveness of effective behavioral treatments (e.g., Bunck & Iwata, 1978;Little, 1968).…”