SCP Independent Living Performance Measurement Survey 1

Descriptive Report for the Senior 

Companion Program Independent 

Living Pilot/Feasibility Survey 

SEPTEMBER 2014
Page 2 

Descriptive Report for the Senior Companion Program Independent 

Living Pilot/Feasibility Survey

September 2014

Authors 

This study was conducted by researchers from JBS International in Burlingame, CA: This study was conducted 

by researchers from JBS International in Burlingame, CA, pursuant to a contract between the Corporation for 

National and Community Service, a federal agency of the United States Government, and JBS International. 

 

 Annie Georges, Ph.D., Research Associate 

Susan Gabbard, Ph.D., Vice President 

Carmen, Sum, M.B.A., Senior Associate 

Peter Lovegrove, Ph.D., Research Associate 

Sarah Macdonald, M.A., Research Assistant 

Acknowledgements 

We would like to thank all the project directors, staffs and clients who made this study possible. 

Citation

Georges, A., & Gabbard, S., Sum, C., Lovegrove, P., & Macdonald, S. (2014). Descriptive Report for the Senior 

Companion Program Independent Living Pilot/Feasibility Survey. North Bethesda, MD: JBS International, Inc. 

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. Upon request, this 

material will be made available in alternative formats for people with disabilities. 

 SEPTEMBER 2014

SEPTEMBER 2014
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Table of Contents 

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Methods ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Developing the Questionnaire .................................................................................................................................... 9

Sampling ..................................................................................................................................................................10

Data Collection .........................................................................................................................................................11

Data Processing .......................................................................................................................................................12

Response Rates and Non-Response Analysis .............................................................................................................12

Findings from the Cross Sectional Survey ....................................................................................................................24

Findings from the Longitudinal Pilot Pre/Post Survey ...................................................................................................36

Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................................................................................37

Appendix A: Questionnaire ...........................................................................................................................................39

Appendix B: Weights Calculation ..................................................................................................................................39
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List of Tables 

Table 1. Survey Questions Administered to Each Type of Respondent ........................................................................10

Table 2. SCP Independent Living Pilot/Feasibility Study Sampling Frame....................................................................11

Table 3. Disposition Status of Clients Contacted during the Primary Phone Contact ....................................................13

Table 4. Survey Completion Rates by Stratum .............................................................................................................14

Table 5: Number of Clients Completing the Performance Measurement Survey, by Survey Mode ...............................16

Table 6. Number of Responses in the Nonresponse Follow-up by Survey Mode .........................................................17

Table 7. Conversion Rate in the Nonresponse Follow-up.............................................................................................18

Table 8. Characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents that completed a telephone survey in the follow-up 

phase ...........................................................................................................................................................................19

Table 9.Characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents that completed the self-administered paper survey in 

the follow-up phase ......................................................................................................................................................21

Table 10. Characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents ....................................................................................23
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List of Figures 

Figure 1: How Established SCP Clients Identified their Race .......................................................................................25

Figure 2: Established SCP Clients Veteran Status .......................................................................................................26

Figure 3: Educational Attainment ..................................................................................................................................26

Figure 4: SCP Clients’ Annual Income..........................................................................................................................27

Figure 5: Average Number of Hours per Week with a Senior Companion .................................................................... 28

Figure 6: SPC Clients’ Perceived Social Ties ...............................................................................................................29

Figure 7: SPC Clients’ Perceived Social Support .........................................................................................................29

Figure 8: SPC Clients’ Perceived Self-Efficacy .............................................................................................................30

Figure 9: SPC Clients’ Satisfaction with Senior Companion Services...........................................................................31

Figure 10: Number of Reported Diagnosed Medical Conditions ...................................................................................32

Figure 11: Type of Medical Conditions .........................................................................................................................32

Figure 12: Mobility Associated Disability .......................................................................................................................33

Figure 12: How Established SCP Clients Rated their Memory ......................................................................................34

Figure 13: How SCP Clients Rated Overall Satisfaction with their Lives .......................................................................35

Figure 15: How Established SCP Clients Perceived their Self-Efficacy ........................................................................35

Figure 15: How Established SCP Clients Perceive their Level of Social and Emotional Loneliness ..............................36
Page 6 

Executive Summary 

The SCP Independent Living Pilot/Feasibility Study consisted of a cross-sectional and a pilot pre/post survey. 

The cross-sectional survey was designed to provide information on the demographic characteristics of adults 

receiving independent living services from a Senior Companion and to measure the impact on self-efficacy, life 

satisfaction, and social and emotional benefits. In addition, the survey included the performance measurement 

questions from the SCP Independent Living Performance Measurement Study, which allowed for in-depth 

examination of clients’ satisfaction with Senior Companion services as well as analysis to validate the 

performance measurement items. The pre/post pilot survey was comprised of a small sample of new clients 

enrolled in the study when they applied for Senior Companion services. The baseline and follow-up surveys were 

similar to the cross-sectional survey. 

The results from the cross-sectional survey shows: 

 The beneficiaries of CNCS-supported Senior Companion services are primarily female and racially 

diverse. Consistent with the goal of the Senior Companion program to provide services to low-income 

adults, the majority (83%) of clients have income level below $20,000 per year. 

 On average, clients have been receiving SCP services for approximately four years. The average 

number of hours per week with a Senior Companion is 8.7 hours. 

 Clients gave high ratings to their overall satisfaction with the Senior Companion program. More than 90 

percent of clients agreed that they were satisfied with their Senior Companion, and that the Senior 

Companion Program had met their expectations. 

 The questionnaire included eight diagnosed medical conditions. Ninety-seven percent of clients reported 

having been diagnosed with at least one of the eight medical conditions. More than two-thirds of clients 

were diagnosed with two to four medical conditions. 

 Almost three-fourths of clients rated their memory as good, very good or excellent. On average, clients 

did not feel they experienced any depressive symptoms and the majority of the clients felt they had a lot 

of energy. 

 There was moderate to high prevalence of social loneliness among clients. More than three-fourths of 

clients experienced feeling alone or feeling they lacked companionship some of the time or often. 

However, there was not a high prevalence of emotional loneliness. Over 90 percent of clients felt that 

there were people they could turn to or that there were people they felt close to at least some of the time 

or often. 
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The strength of this study is that the data can be used to measure the impact of the Senior Companion program. 

It is possible to use the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to compare program participants with nonparticipants to measure whether participation in the Senior Corps program may be causally linked to life 

satisfaction, self-efficacy, health and social and emotional outcomes. In addition, the data on demographic, 

mental health status, medical conditions and health history measures can be analyzed to assess the validity of

the 12 SCP Independent Living Performance Measurement items. 

The pilot pre/post survey highlighted best practices and potential barriers to overcome in future studies. One of

the barriers was grantees’ commitment to protect their clients’ contact information. A successful approach was to

build a flexible data collection protocol that allowed for privacy concerns to be addressed while maintaining a 

consistent procedure across grantees. The pilot pre/post survey demonstrated that to preserve the true baseline, 

the data collection should be embedded into the enrollment process. Doing so minimized the possibility that 

clients would have started receiving services prior to collecting the baseline information. 
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Overview 

The Senior Companion Program (SCP) is a national initiative that engages persons 55 and older, particularly 

those with limited incomes, in volunteer service to meet critical community needs and to provide a high 

quality experience that will enrich the lives of the volunteers. Funds for the program are used to support Senior 

Companion volunteers in providing supportive, individualized services to help adults with physical, emotional or 

mental health limitations, most of whom are elderly, maintain their dignity and independence in their own home. 

In 2013, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) conducted a national evaluation to 

measure the characteristics of the beneficiaries of the Senior Companion Program (SCP clients) and to measure 

SCP clients’ psychosocial outcomes. The evaluation focused on established SCP clients who, at the time of the 

data collection, would have been receiving independent living services from a Senior Companion for at least one 

year. This national evaluation, the Senior Companion Program (SCP) Independent Living Client Pilot/Feasibility 

Study had two goals: (1) Measure the impact of SCP program on beneficiaries (SCP clients), and (2) Assess the 

feasibility of conducting a longitudinal, quasi-experimental evaluation to measure the impact of independent living 

services on SCP clients’ social ties and perceived social supports. 

The study consisted of a cross-sectional survey and a small longitudinal study using a pre/post design. Both 

studies were designed to support Goal 1 of CNCS’ 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. Goal 1 is to increase the impact of 

national service on community needs in communities served by CNCS-supported programs. The cross-sectional 

survey consisted of 557 established SCP clients. The longitudinal pilot pre/post survey sample consisted of 20 

newly enrolled clients. Both surveys collected demographic characteristics, self-reported health and medical 

conditions, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, perceived self-efficacy and social and emotional outcomes. 

Both surveys included questions that are parallel to those in the 2010 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). As 

such, the data will allow researchers to measure the impact of Senior Companion services on overall health and 

social and emotional outcomes by forming a matched comparison group using data on participants in the HRS with 

similar background characteristics and specific types of medical conditions. 

Specifically, the available data can address the following descriptive and impact questions: 

 What are the characteristics of established Senior Companion clients? 

 What is the prevalence of medical conditions, mobility and perceptions of general health and mental 

health among Senior Companion clients? 

 How do established Senior Companion clients perceive their self-efficacy, overall satisfaction with life and 

social and emotional loneliness? 

 What is the impact of the Senior Companion Program on clients' social and emotional loneliness 

compared to a similar group of adults who did not participate in SCP? 
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This descriptive report, funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), describes the 

findings from both surveys. The report describes the background characteristics of SCP clients, their self-efficacy, 

medical conditions and social and emotional outcomes. The sections of this report are as follows. Since this was 

a pilot study, the first half of the report describes the methodology. The report describes the development and 

pre-testing of the questionnaire, followed by the data collection procedures including the procedures for 

communicating with SCP grantees as well as the training provided to conduct surveys with elderly clients. The 

report then describes the sampling approach, followed by a discussion on data processing and nonresponse bias 

analysis. The second half of the report presents findings from the cross-sectional survey of 557 established SCP 

clients, followed by a discussion of the longitudinal pilot pre/post survey of 20 newly enrolled SCP clients. The 

report concludes with a discussion of recommendations for future research. 

Methods 

Developing the Questionnaire 

The survey instrument was developed with input from a Technical Working Group (TWG) comprised of expert 

researchers in gerontology, physical and cognitive disabilities, culturally, marginalized and low-income elderly 

populations, and quasi-experimental methods with matched comparison groups. The TWG reviewed a 

preliminary draft of the survey instrument and provided guidance on identifying a set of survey items that would 

reliably measure the key outcomes. In addition, the final instrument replicated questions from the HRS, which will 

allow researchers to measure the impact on life satisfaction, self-efficacy and social and emotional loneliness by 

comparing SCP clients to other adults in the HRS with similar background characteristics and medical conditions. 

Questions in the English and Spanish survey instruments were identical to the English or Spanish versions of the 

2010 HRS. Appendix A includes a copy of the questionnaire. 

We expected that some of the independent living clients would have cognitive deficits that would make answering 

the survey difficult or impossible. We consulted with the TWG regarding the use of either an assistant to help 

respondents complete the survey or a proxy reporter to complete the survey for the respondent. One 

recommendation was to ask some of the demographic questions at the beginning of the questionnaire (i.e., birth 

date, ethnicity, marital status) to assess cognitive ability. If a respondent was unable to answer these three 

questions or there was indication that the respondent was confused or unsure about how to answer these three 

basic questions, the interviewer would make an attempt to identify an assistant or proxy or terminate the interview 

if necessary. The survey protocol made a distinction between an assisted interview, where an individual assists 

the respondent with the survey, and a proxy reporter, where the individual would have to provide the answers for 

the respondent due to physical or mental impairment. The respondent’s Senior Companion volunteer was not 
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considered an acceptable assistant. A modified survey instrument was developed for proxy reporters. The 

modified version of the survey includes questions that a proxy reporter could be expected to answer, such as 

demographic characteristics and medical conditions, but excluded questions on life satisfaction, depressive 

symptoms, loneliness and self-efficacy. Table 1 shows the specific questions in the instrument for each type of 

respondent: 

Table 1. Survey Questions Administered to Each Type of Respondent 

Respondents 

answer for 

Respondents answer for themselves with Proxy reporters answer for the 

themselves assistance respondents

Questions 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 25, 

All Questions All Questions and 27-37

We pre-tested the instrument in April 2013. The pre-test sample consisted of six English language respondents 

who were current SCP clients and two Spanish language speakers who were not SCP clients. Seven of the eight 

respondents were women. They ranged in age from 55 to 92 years old. After incorporating the pre-test feedback, 

we finalized the questionnaire and data collection procedures. 

Sampling 

The respondent universe consisted of established clients from the cohort of 50 SCP grantees renewing their 

grants in 2013. The respondent universe of SCP clients was estimated at approximately 15,600 based on fiscal 

year 2011 data, which was the most current data at the time the study began. It was not possible to identify the 

universe of established clients at the outset. 

We selected a sample of clients using a stratified probability proportionate to size (PPS) method. The size 

measure was based on the estimated number of all SCP clients in fiscal year 2011. The universe from which the 

sample was drawn had a hierarchical structure such that SCP clients exist within SCP grantees or projects. 

There was an additional level of structure among grantees in that clients were nested within sites or stations. 

Whether this level of structure existed across all projects was unknown prior to sampling. 

Grantees were selected PPS within one of three strata, which were based on the estimated number of all SCP 

clients in fiscal year 2011. The first stratum consisted of large size grantees serving at least 700 clients. The 
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second stratum consisted of grantees serving between 150 and 700 clients. The third stratum consisted of 

grantees serving fewer than 150 clients. Table 2 shows the number of grantees in each stratum. Based on the 

available data, we oversampled grantees in the small stratum to assure that we would be able to meet the target 

allocation of interviews for that stratum. As indicated in Table 2, we selected nine grantees within the small 

stratum, 16 grantees within the medium size stratum and all four grantees within the large size stratum was

selected with certainty. 

At the second stage of sampling, we selected stations within grantees using simple random sampling. Station 

sampling was only done when the number of eligible clients at the grantee exceeded the interview allocation. At 

smaller grantees, stations were censused. The final stage of sampling was a census of established clients at 

selected stations. 

Table 2. SCP Independent Living Pilot/Feasibility Study Sampling Frame

Stratum

Number of 

Grantees

Percent of Clients 

FY 2011

Sampled 

Grantees

Clients per 

Stratum FY 2011

Interviews 

Allocated to 

Stratum based 

FY 2011

on 

Small 18 10% 9 960 187

Medium 28 58% 16 5,671 775

Large 4 31% 4 3,784 438

Total 50 100%1 29 10,415 1,400

1

Total may not add to 100 percent due to rounding.

Data Collection 

Communication with Grantees 

We collaborated with CNCS to produce communication pieces that CNCS sent to grantees to promote the study, 

provide an overview of the study goals and provide information on the data collection schedule. We developed 

separate communication pieces to announce the launch of the survey and request grantee cooperation to provide 

client lists for sampling. 

Interviewer Training 

The interviewer training protocol included a script to explain who was conducting the study, why the study was 

being conducted and that the survey was voluntary and confidential. The script also provided interviewers with 

steps on how to handle situations involving respondents with special needs and a list of frequently asked 

questions that respondents might have about the study, their participation or the survey questions. 

The training also included role-playing of interviewing scenarios (e.g., clients who are physically or mentally 
Page 12

challenged, participants who are non-English speakers, interviewing proxy reporters when clients were not able 

to respond for themselves). Training provided interviewers with techniques for working with disabled individuals 

and those individuals who might not be able to participate because of cognitive or physical reasons. A TWG 

member with expertise in conducting studies with seniors and with physically and cognitively disabled populations 

conducted this portion of the training. The surveys were conducted in both English and Spanish. Records for 

each completed survey contained a variable indicating whether the survey was conducted in English or Spanish. 

JBS International’s Internal Review Board (IRB) reviewed the research protocol and granted an exemption. The 

Office of Management and Budget cleared the data collection plan on January 23, 2013 (Office of Management 

and Budget control # 3045-0146). 

Data Processing 

The interview took an average of 20 minutes. We reviewed the interviews daily for completeness and quality. The 

database system contained cross-check queries to find missing fields, and other discrepancies found were 

corrected during the interviewing process so that interviewers could correct them. In occasions where missing 

information was found after the interview had been completed, interviewers attempted to promptly contact the 

respondent and capture the correct responses. Data collection began in mid-December 2013 and ended in midJuly 2014. 

Response Rates and Non-Response Analysis 

The response rate is the ratio of the number of clients with completed surveys to the number of eligible clients 

sampled, taking into account all sampling stages. Under the multistage design of the study, the overall response 

rate is the product of the grantee and the client completion rates. The first stage of the sample consisted of 29 

SCP grantees that were renewing their grants during fiscal year 2013. One large grantee received an exemption 

since it exclusively served clients residing in institutionalized settings. Three grantees did not submit contact 

information for clients. One grantee provided information on the total number of established clients, but did not 

provide contact information for the clients prior to the end of data collection. There were 24 grantees in the final 

sample, yielding a grantee completion rate of 86 percent. The 24 grantees provided contact information for 1,062 

established clients who were eligible for the study. Given that the available number of eligible clients was below 

the target sample size of 1,190, all clients were contacted. Contacting clients by telephone was the primary mode 

for completing the survey. When contacted, 86 clients were determined to be out-of-scope (i.e., the individual 

contacted stated they were not clients or the individual was deceased). As shown in Table 3, of the 1,062 clients, 

15 percent (n = 158) could not be reached because of incorrect or incomplete contact information; one percent (n 

= 12) of the clients were unable to consent due to cognitive impairment and those clients did not have a proxy 
Page 13

reporter or assistant to assist with the survey. There were 55 cases where the survey could not be completed 

because the client spoke a language other than English or Spanish. The majority of those cases (n = 37) were 

clients whose primary language was Russian. 

Table 3. Disposition Status of Clients Contacted during the Primary Phone Contact 

Disposition Status Number 

Clients

of 

Number of Clients Contacted 1,062

Out-of-scope: Deceased/Not SCP client 86

Complete/Partial complete 446

Refusal 118

Left message/Hung up 165

Did not speak English or Spanish 55

Reschedule 20

Unable to consent 12

Wrong Number/No telephone number provided 158

Other 2

Table 4 shows the completion rate at both stages of sampling by stratum. The lowest completion rate was among 

grantees in the large stratum. 
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Table 4. Survey Completion Rates by Stratum 

Number of Grantee Number of Out of Number of Client 

Stratum

Sampled 

Grantees

Participating

Grantees

Completion 

Rate

Clients 

Contacted

Sample/

Deceased

Surveys 

Completed

Completion 

Rate

Small 9 8 89% 246 15 110 48%

Medium 16 15 94% 734 56 309 46%

Large 3 1 25% 82 15 27 40%

Exempt Grantee 1 -- -- -- -- -- --

Total 28 24 86% 1,062 86 446 46%
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Given the lower than recommended completion rate among contacted clients, it was important to determine if the 

nonresponse was random or if there might be bias due to systematic differences in characteristics among 

respondents and nonrespondents. 

We conducted a nonresponse follow-up data collection designed to test alternative approaches for increasing the 

response rate and reducing nonresponse bias, to indicate which survey mode (e.g., phone survey, mail survey) 

would be the most effective to achieve a high response rate from this population, and to help CNCS identify the 

most effective data collection methods for future evaluation of this population. The nonresponse follow-up 

collected information on nonrespondents’ characteristics so that differences in the characteristics of respondents 

and nonrespondents could be measured. 

In making the decision on which survey mode to use for the nonresponse follow-up, we reviewed results from the 

SCP Independent Living Performance Measurement survey, a cross-sectional survey of established independent 

living clients and caregivers who had been receiving services for at least one year. This CNCS-funded survey 

was a census of all established clients and caregivers who received independent living and respite services at 

SCP grantees that were renewing their grants in 2013..1 As shown in Table 5, 64 percent of the respondents in 

the Performance Measurement survey completed self-administered paper surveys; 23 percent completed phone 

surveys; and 14 percent were in-person interviews. 

 

1

 Pratt, D., Lovegrove, P., Birmingham, C., Lombas, L., Vicinanza, N., Georges, A., & Gabbard, S. (2014). SCP 

Independent Living Performance Measurement Survey: Process, Rationale, Results, and Recommendations. 

North Bethesda, MD: JBS International, Inc. 
Page 16

Table 5: Number of Clients Completing the Performance Measurement Survey, by Survey Mode 

Survey Mode

Number of 

Completed 

Surveys Percent

Paper 2,048 64

Online 1 0.03

In-person interview 435 14

Phone interview 730 23

Total 3,214 100

Source: 2013 SCP Independent Living Performance Measurement Survey 

Based on the results of the 2013 SCP Independent Living Performance Measurement Survey, we structured the 

nonresponse data collection to use two survey modes: a self-administered paper/mail survey and an assisted 

phone interview. It was not possible to conduct extensive nonresponse data collection for all 24 grantees. As 

such, we selected nine grantees for the nonresponse follow-up phase of the data collection. We were systematic 

in selecting grantees and intentional in assigning them a survey mode. We selected grantees with the lowest 

response rates, including seven grantees with a completion rate of 30 percent or lower and two grantees with 

completion rates of 37 and 45 percent. All nonrespondents at each of the selected grantees were included in the 

more intensive nonresponse follow-up data collection. The nonresponse follow-up data collection was completed 

with eight of the nine grantees. 

We coordinated with each of the selected grantees to use either a contact assisted phone interview or a selfadministered paper survey and to determine which survey mode would be the easiest for the grantee/project 

director to administer. For the assisted phone interview, the grantee/project directors coordinated with our staff to 

assist their clients to contact our interviewers using a dedicated toll-free number. The project directors had 

flexibility in how to achieve this; by either calling the client or coordinating with the client’s Senior Companion. 

Grantees using the self-administered paper survey option were provided copies of the survey to deliver to the 

nonrespondent clients. The project directors would determine how best to deliver the survey to the client; this 

could entail mailing the survey to the client or having the Senior Companion deliver the survey to the clients. A 

pre-paid postage envelope was provided for each client. The client received instructions on how to complete the 

survey and return it to our office. 

The nonresponse bias analysis consisted of an examination of the response rates, an analysis of the differences 
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in characteristics between respondents and nonrespondents, and weight adjustments for nonresponse. The 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has a formula to estimate nonresponse bias. The formula defines bias 

for a particular estimate, B(y̅r

) , as the following: 

B(y̅r

) = y̅r − y̅t = (nnr

n

) (y̅r − y̅nr) (1) 

where: 

yt = the mean based on all sample cases; 

yr = the mean based only on respondent cases; 

y̅nr = the mean based only on the nonrespondent cases; 

n = the number of cases in the sample; and 

nnr = the number of nonrespondent cases 

Five of the eight grantees administered the paper survey and three utilized the assisted telephone option. Table 6 

shows the distribution of response rates by survey mode in the nonresponse follow-up phase. The completion 

rate for the follow-up phase was 47 percent for self-administered paper survey and 22 percent for the phone 

survey. 

Table 6. Number of Responses in the Nonresponse Follow-up by Survey Mode 

Number Completed Completed Completion

of prior to during rate at 

clients follow-up follow-up follow-up

Self-administered paper survey 287 111 82 47%

Telephone survey 235 102 29 22%

Table 7 shows the conversion rate for each mode of contact used in the nonresponse follow-up. Twenty-eight 

percent of the respondents in the nonresponse follow-up phase had previously refused to participate when they 

were contacted by telephone, an additional 27 percent had ‘hung up’ or we had left a message in each of three 

attempts, and for another 27 percent we received an incorrect telephone number or did not receive a telephone 

number for the client. 
Page 18

Table 7. Conversion Rate in the Nonresponse Follow-up 

Total 

Converted to respondents 

nonresponse follow-up

in the 

responding 

during 

Follow-up 

Phase Percent

Disposition status when 

originally contacted for the 

telephone survey 

Paper 

Survey

Phone 

Survey

Deceased

Refusal 25 7 -- 32 28%

Left message/Hung up 22 8 -- 30 27%

Wrong Number/No 

Telephone Number 

provided 19 10 1 30 27%

Did not speak 

Spanish 

English or 

10 0 10 9%

Reschedule 5 0 1 6 5%

Unable to consent 1 2 -- 3 3%

Other -- 2 -- 2 2%

Total 82 29 2 113 --

We analyzed differences in characteristics between respondents and nonrespondents. We examined differences 

for selected background characteristics including gender, race, marital status, veteran status, income, education, 

general health, mobility and average number of weekly hours spent with a Senior Companion. We conducted 

three sets of analyses. The first analysis, shown in Table 8, examined differences between respondents who 

completed the telephone survey and nonrespondents that completed a telephone survey during the follow-up 

phase. There were 29 clients from three grantees that completed the survey by telephone during the follow-up 

phase. There were no significant differences between the two groups of respondents, with the exception of hours 

with a Senior Companion, mobility (reaching/extending arms above shoulder level), self-efficacy and social 

loneliness. Specifically, a higher proportion of the clients in the follow-up phase reported at least four hours per 

week with a Senior Companion and almost all stated they could do just about anything they set their mind to. 

However, the majority often felt alone or felt they lack companionship. 
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Table 8. Characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents that completed a telephone survey in the 

follow-up phase 

RespondentsTelephone 

Survey

Responded in 

the Follow-up 

PhaseTelephone 

Survey

% % p value

Male 18 23

Female 82 77 0.61

Not a High School Graduate 34 41 --

Minimum High School Diploma 66 59 0.53

More than $20000 in Annual Income 13 11 --

Less than $20000 in Annual Income 88 89 0.87

Non White 52 59 --

White 48 41 0.52

Not Veteran 89 82 --

Veteran 11 18 0.37

Non Widowed 45 40 --

Widowed 55 60 0.68

Fair/Poor Health 64 48 --

Excellent/Very Good/Good Health 36 52 0.15

Less than 4 hours with Senior Companion 39 14 --

At Least 4 hours with Senior Companion 61 86 0.03

No Difficulty Walking one Block 74 62 --

Difficulty Walking one Block 26 38 0.24

No Difficulty Getting up from a Chair 74 59 --

Difficulty Getting up from a Chair 26 41 0.15

No Difficulty 

Shoulder

Reaching/Extending Arms above 

52 27 --

Difficulty Reaching/Extending Arms 

Level

above Shoulder 

48 73 0.03
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RespondentsTelephone 

Survey

Responded in 

the Follow-up 

PhaseTelephone 

Survey

Disagree-Can do just about anything 43 10 --

Agree-Can do just about anything 57 90 0.004

Disagree-Can do things want to do 51 29 --

Agree-Can do things want to do 49 71 0.06

Often-Feel alone 59 86 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel alone 41 14 0.02

Often-Feel lack companionship 69 95 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel lack companionship 31 5 0.01

Often-Feel there are people close to 44 35 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel there are people close to 56 65 0.45

Often-Feel there are people can turn to 39 19 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel there are people can turn to 61 81 0.09

N 121 29

Note “—“ is suppressed because there are fewer than four respondents. 

The second analysis, shown in Table 9, examined differences between respondents who completed the 

telephone survey and nonrespondents who completed a self-administered paper survey during the follow-up 

phase. There were 82 clients from five grantees that completed a self-administered paper survey by mail during 

the follow-up phase. The significant differences between these two groups were income, self-rated health and 

emotional loneliness. In particular, a higher proportion of the clients that completed the survey by mail reported 

lower income than other respondents, and their self-rated health was generally more positive than other 

respondents. Clients in the follow-up phase more frequently reported that there were often people they felt close 

to and often felt there were people they could turn to. 
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Table 9.Characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents that completed the self-administered paper 

survey in the follow-up phase 

RespondentsTelephone 

Survey

Nonrespondents 

in the Follow-up 

Phase -

Mail/Paper 

Survey

% % p value

Male 20 15 --

Female 80 85 0.42

Not a High School Graduate 31 42 --

Minimum High School Diploma 69 58 0.13

More than $20000 in Annual Income 23 9 --

Less than $20000 in Annual Income 77 91 0.03

Non White 44 49 --

White 56 51 0.43

Not Veteran 84 90 --

Veteran 16 10 0.24

Not Widowed 44 49 --

Widowed 56 51 0.43

Fair/Poor Health 58 41 --

Excellent/Very Good/Good Health 42 59 0.04

Less than 4 hours with Senior Companion 16 14 --

At Least 4 hours with Senior Companion 84 86 0.75

No Difficulty Walking one Block 69 59 --

Difficulty Walking one Block 31 41 0.18

No Difficulty Getting up from a Chair 64 51 --

Difficulty Getting up from a Chair 36 49 0.08

No Difficulty Reaching/Extending Arms above Shoulder 38 41 --

Difficulty Reaching/Extending Arms above Shoulder Level 62 59 0.73
Page 22

RespondentsTelephone 

Survey

Nonrespondents 

in the Follow-up 

Phase -

Mail/Paper 

Survey

Disagree-Can do just about anything 51 42 --

Agree-Can do just about anything 49 58 0.28

Disagree-Can do things want to do 50 37

Agree-Can do things want to do 50 63 0.10

Often-Feel alone 68 76

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel alone 32 24 0.27

Often-Feel lack companionship 83 90 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel lack companionship 17 10 0.25

Often-Feel there are people close to 30 74 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel there are people close to 70 26 <.0001

Often-Feel there are people can turn to 32 59 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel there are people can turn to 68 41 0.001

N 110 82

The third analysis, shown in Table 10, compares all respondents to nonrespondents irrespective of the mode 

used in the follow-up phase. There were a total of 111 clients in the follow-up phase that completed the survey by 

telephone or self-administered paper survey by mail. As shown in Table 10, nonrespondents had responses that 

were, on average, different from respondents. Specifically, clients in the follow-up were more likely to be nonwhite, had lower educational attainment, were more likely to rate their health positively, and were more likely to 

have a Senior Companion for at least four hours per week. Although a higher proportion of clients in the follow-up 

reported mobility challenges, they reported that they could do just about anything and could do the things they 

wanted to do. Also, a higher proportion of the clients in the follow-up often felt alone or often felt they lacked

companionship; these clients also felt there were often people they felt close to or that there were people they 

could turn to. 
Page 23

Table 10. Characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents 

Nonrespondents 

– Follow-up 

Phase

Respondents 

-Telephone 

Survey

% % p value

Male 17 18 --

Female 83 82 0.73

Not a High School Graduate 42 30 --

Minimum High School Diploma 58 70 0.03

More than $20000 in Annual Income 9 18 --

Less than $20000 in Annual Income 91 82 0.09

Non White 52 37 --

White 48 63 0.01

Not Veteran 88 90 --

Veteran 12 10 0.71

Non Widowed 47 42 --

Widowed 53 58 0.31

Fair/Poor Health 42 59 --

Excellent/Very Good/Good Health 58 41 0.01

Less than 4 hours with Senior Companion 14 30 --

At Least 4 hours with Senior Companion 86 70 0.001

No Difficulty Walking one Block 60 75 --

Difficulty Walking one Block 40 25 0.003

No Difficulty Getting up from a Chair 53 69 --

Difficulty Getting up from a Chair 47 31 0.001

No Difficulty Reaching/Extending Arms above Shoulder 38 48 --

Difficulty Reaching/Extending Arms above Shoulder Level 62 52 0.08
Page 24

Nonrespondents 

– Follow-up 

Phase

Respondents 

-Telephone 

Survey

Disagree-Can do just about anything 35 47 --

Agree-Can do just about anything 65 53 0.03

Disagree-Can do things want to do 35 53 --

Agree-Can do things want to do 65 47 0.002

Often-Feel alone 78 60 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel alone 22 40 0.001

Often-Feel lack companionship 91 69 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel lack companionship 9 31 <.0001

Often-Feel there are people close to 65 40 --

Sometime/Hardly-Feel there are people close to 35 60 <.0001

Often-Feel there are people can turn to 50 39 --

Sometimes/Hardly-Feel there are people can turn to 50 61 0.07

N 111 446

Given the observed differences between respondents and nonrespondents, we applied weights that adjusted for both 

grantee nonresponse and client nonresponse. Appendix B describes how the weights were calculated. 

Findings from the Cross-Sectional Survey 

This section of the report presents the findings of the data collected from the 557 established SCP clients that 

participated in the cross-sectional survey. The findings discussed in this section answer the following research 

questions: 

 Question 1: What are the background characteristics of established Senior Companion clients? 

 Question 2: How much service do established clients receive and what is their level of satisfaction with the 

Senior Companion services? 

 Question 3: What is the prevalence of medical conditions, mobility, perception of general health and mental 

health? 
Page 25

 Question 4: How do established clients perceive their level of self-efficacy, social and emotional 

loneliness? 

Question 1: What are the background characteristics of established Senior Companion clients? 

 Clients’ average age was 79.8 years; the youngest client was 52 years old and the oldest clients were 

older than 85 years old. 

The beneficiaries of CNCS-supported Senior Companion services are primarily female and racially diverse 

(Figure 1). 

 Seventy-nine percent of clients were female and 21 percent were male. 

 Fifty-five percent of clients were white, 16 percent were black/African American, three percent were 

Asian, four percent were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, three percent were American Indian 

or Native Alaskan and nine percent of clients identified with more than one race (Figure 1). 

 Seven percent of clients identified as Hispanic or Latino. 

Figure 1: How Established SCP Clients Identified their Race 

Figure 2 shows the clients’ veteran status. About 11 percent were veterans; the largest constituents were family 

members of veterans, with 40 percent of clients in that category. Approximately four percent were military 

families. 
Page 26

Figure 2: Established SCP Clients Veteran Status 

Less than one-third (32%) of clients completed high school or the GED; 27 percent had less than a high school 

education and about 14 percent had at least attained a BA degree (Figure 3). 

Figure 3: Educational Attainment 

Clients were primarily widowed and living alone. More than half of clients were widowed (56%), followed by 

separated/divorced (18%). Approximately 83 percent had children, and the average number of children was 3.4. 

Although most clients lived alone, if they had children, their children tended to reside within 10 miles of their 

home. More than two-thirds (69%) of the clients with children reported that their children resided within 10 miles 
Page 27

of where they live. 

Consistent with the goal of the Senior Companion program to provide services to low-income adults, Figure 4 

shows that 83 percent of clients have income level below $20,000 per year and another 11 percent have an 

income level between $20,000 to $30,000 per year. 

Figure 4: SCP Clients’ Annual Income 

Question 2: How much service do established clients receive and what is their level of satisfaction with the Senior 

Companion services? 

 On average, established clients have been receiving SCP services for 4.1 years. The average number 

of hours per week with a Senior Companion was 8.7 hours. 

 About one-third of clients spent fewer than four hours per week with a Senior Companion, 39 percent 

spent between four to six hours per week with a Senior Companion and 14 percent spent between 

seven to ten hours per week with a Senior Companion (Figure 5). 

 About 14 percent of clients spent at least 11 hours per week with a Senior Companion (Figure 5). 
Page 28

Figure 5: Average Number of Hours per Week with a Senior Companion

The SCP Independent Living Pilot/Feasibility survey included the 12 performance measurement items from the 

SCP Independent Living Performance Measurement Survey’s questionnaire.2, 

3

Similar to the results in the previous study, clients agreed that the Senior Companion positively affected how they 

felt about their lives (Figure 6). 

 Ninety percent agreed that they were less lonely. 

 More than three-fourths (78%) agreed that they had close ties to more people. 

 More than 90 percent agreed that they were more satisfied with their lives. 

 

2

 Pratt, D., Lovegrove, P., Birmingham, C., Lombas, L., Vicinanza, N., Georges, A., & Gabbard, S., (2014). SCP 

Independent Living Performance Measurement Survey: Process, Rationale, Results, and Recommendations. 

North Bethesda, MD: JBS International, Inc. 

3

 Only clients answered the performance measurement items. Proxy reporters did not answer these items. 
Page 29

Figure 6: SPC Clients’ Perceived Social Ties

About 73 percent agreed that because of a Senior Companion they were able to remain living in their own home; 

and approximately 83 percent reported that they felt able to do more of the things they needed or wanted to do 

(Figure 7). 

Figure 7: SPC Clients’ Perceived Social Support 

More than half of clients agreed they were eating regularly scheduled meals with the support of a Senior 

Companion (Figure 8). 
Page 30

Approximately two-thirds agreed they were able to get to medical appointments or able to get to the grocery store 

with the support of the Senior Companion (Figure 8). 

Almost three-fourths (71%) agreed that they were able to take care of other necessary errands and appointments 

(Figure 8). 

Figure 8: SPC Clients’ Perceived Self-Efficacy 

Consistent with the findings from the previous study, clients gave high ratings to their overall satisfaction with the 

Senior Companion program. More than 90 percent of clients agreed they were satisfied with their Senior 

Companion and that the Senior Companion Program met their expectations (Figure 9). 
Page 31

Figure 9: SPC Clients’ Satisfaction with Senior Companion Services

Question 3: What is the prevalence of medical conditions, mobility and perception of general and mental health? 

 The majority (56%) rated their health as fair or poor and 44 percent rated their health as excellent, very 

good or good. 

 The questionnaire included eight diagnosed medical conditions. Ninety-seven percent of clients reported 

having been diagnosed with at least one of the eight medical conditions. 

 More than two-thirds (68%) reported being diagnosed with two to four medical conditions. 
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Figure 10: Number of Reported Diagnosed Medical Conditions 

Figure 10 shows the percent of clients reporting each of the eight medical conditions. The most common medical 

conditions were high blood pressure or hypertension (74%), and arthritis, osteoarthritis or rheumatism (72%). 

Other common conditions were diabetes or high blood sugar (39%) and heart problems such as heart attack or

coronary heart diseases (40%). 

Figure 11: Type of Medical Conditions
Page 33

A majority of clients reported mobility associated disability due to a health condition (Figure 11). Specifically, 71 

percent of clients had either difficulty walking one block or could not or did not walk one block. 

Two-thirds (66%) either had difficulty getting up or could not get up from a chair after sitting for long periods. Less 

than half (46%) of clients were unable to reach or extend their arms above shoulder level. 

Figure 12: Mobility Associated Disability 

More than three-fourths (78%) of clients reported that an impairment or health problem limited the kind or amount 

of work they could do around their house. 

Among clients with an impairment or health problem that limited working around their house, less than one-third 

(32%) had limitations that restricted their work around the house altogether. 

The majority (72%) of clients rated their memory as good, very good or excellent (Figure 12). On average, clients 

did not feel they experienced any depressive symptoms and the majority of the clients felt they had a lot of 

energy. 
Page 34

Figure 12: How Established SCP Clients Rated their Memory 

Almost all clients had either Medicare or Medicaid health insurance coverage. About three percent did not have 

Medicare or Medicaid insurance. 

One of the goals of the study was to measure the impact of independent living services on clients’ life satisfaction, 

perceived self-efficacy and social ties and social support. The analysis in this report does not address program 

impact; it does, however, present the distribution of clients’ assessment of their overall satisfaction, self-efficacy 

and social and emotional loneliness. 

Question 4: How do established clients perceive their level of self-efficacy and social and emotional loneliness? 

 The questionnaire included one item that measured clients’ overall satisfaction with their lives. The 

majority of clients were satisfied with their lives (Figure 13). The most common response was 

completely or very satisfied (48%), followed by somewhat satisfied (39%) and 12 percent were not 

satisfied with their lives. 
Page 35

Figure 13: How SCP Clients Rated Overall Satisfaction with their Lives 

A total of six items measured self-efficacy or social and emotional loneliness. Two items measured self-efficacy. 

The majority of clients tended to agree that they could do anything they set their mind to (55%), and that they 

could do the things they wanted to do (60%) (Figure 15). 

Figure 15: How Established SCP Clients Perceived their Self-Efficacy 

There was moderate to high prevalence of social loneliness among clients (Figure 15). Almost three-fourths of 

clients experienced feeling alone (72%), or feeling they lacked companionship (70%) some of the time or often. 
Page 36

However, the majority of clients did not seem to experience emotional loneliness (Figure 15). Approximately 

ninety percent of clients felt there were people they could turn to or that there were people they felt close to at 

least some of the time or often. 

Figure 15: How Established SCP Clients Perceive their Level of Social and Emotional Loneliness 

Findings from the Longitudinal Pilot Pre/Post Survey 

The pilot pre/post survey consisted of newly enrolled clients at seven grantees that CNCS recruited for this study. 

Each participating grantee received a letter and supporting materials to assist them in explaining the research 

study to new clients. Once a client agreed to participate, the project director provided JBS with the client’s contact 

information including name, telephone, language preference, the start date of Senior Companion services and 

whether a proxy reporter would respond for the client. Once JBS staff received the new client contact information, 

an interviewer would attempt to contact the client to complete the baseline survey. 

From December 2013 through April 2014, the seven projects enrolled 34 new clients in the study. The first 

attempt to contact the client to complete the baseline survey generally occurred within 10 days of enrollment. 

Four clients at one grantee were not interviewed at baseline because the clients had begun receiving Senior 

Companion services for about two months before JBS received the clients’ contact information. Of the 34 clients 

enrolled in the study, 20 completed a baseline survey (14 clients, 6 proxy reporters). The reasons for 

nonparticipation included eight refusals, one client for whom we left a message on each of three attempts and 

five hung up or had other reasons. 
Page 37

Of those interviewed at baseline, the age range was 70 at the low-end and the oldest client was older than 85 

years old. Eight were white, two black, four Asians, and four Hispanics/Latinos. Eleven clients were widowed, and 

three were divorced. Eleven of the participants answered the demographics questions in Part 3 of the 

questionnaire. Four of those who answered the demographic questions were female. 

First, we briefly described how participants’ responded at baseline then compared any changes in responses at 

the six-month follow-up. At baseline, half of the participants rated their health as excellent, very good or good; 

and more than three-fourths (76%) indicated satisfaction with their lives. Eight of the participants reported three 

medical conditions, and six reported four or more medical conditions. The most common conditions reported 

were arthritis, osteoarthritis or rheumatism (n = 15), high blood pressure or hypertension (n = 14), and heart 

problems (n = 8). The participants also reported high prevalence of mobility associated disability. Specifically, ten 

clients reported having difficulty getting up from a chair after sitting for long periods, and ten clients reported 

having difficulty reaching or extending their arms above shoulder level. Fifteen of the clients reported that they 

had an impairment or health problem that limited the kind of work they could do around their house. 

Of the 20 clients with baseline data, six agreed to the follow-up survey when they were contacted approximately 

six months later. Of the six clients with baseline and follow-up data, one client had not yet been assigned a 

Senior Companion. Of the five clients with a Senior Companion, there appeared to be no change in how the 

clients responded to the questions on life satisfaction, self-rated health, or the four items measuring social and 

emotional loneliness. There were some changes in clients’ report of their medical conditions. Specifically, two 

clients reported a change in high blood pressure or hypertension, one client reported they now had diabetes or 

high blood sugar, and one client reported a stoke. There was no change in how the clients responded to the other 

medical conditions. 

Summary and Recommendations for Future Research 

The survey results showed that the majority of established clients were female and racially diverse. Clients 

reported high prevalence of medical conditions such as high blood pressure, arthritis, osteoarthritis, or 

rheumatism, heart problems, diabetes, and mobility associated disability. Clients reported high rates of overall 

satisfaction with their lives and self-efficacy. There was moderate to high prevalence of social loneliness; 

however, most clients did not seem to experience emotional loneliness. The average number of years an 

established client received Senior Companion services was about four years and they spent an average of 8.7 

hours per week with their Senior Companion. Clients expressed satisfaction with the Senior Companion program, 

and reported high rates of social support and self-efficacy due to the support of their Senior Companion. 

The strength of this study is that it does allow for future research to measure the impact of the Senior Companion 
Page 38

program on psychosocial outcomes. It is possible, using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), to form a 

matched comparison group of adults of similar demographic backgrounds and health and mental health status to 

measure whether independent living services may be causally linked to life satisfaction, self-efficacy, health and 

social and emotional loneliness. 

The data from this study also overcame the limitations of the SCP Performance Measurement survey. Due to the 

limited number of client level measures the reliability and validity analysis of the Performance Measurement 

items, using the earlier data was inconclusive. The demographic information, mental health status, medical 

conditions and health history measures in the current SCP Independent Living survey, in addition the data can be 

used to further validate the 12 SCP performance measurement items. 

A nonresponse follow-up that employed both telephone and self-administered paper surveys increased the 

response rate. Twenty-eight percent of the respondents in the nonresponse follow-up had previously refused to

participate, and almost half of the respondents in the nonresponse follow-up had disconnected telephone 

numbers or had not returned messages. In light of these findings, it is important to consider multiple modes to

administer future surveys to achieve high response rates. 

The pilot pre/post survey highlighted best practices and potential barriers to overcome when considering future 

longitudinal studies of SCP clients. The low participation rate among the large grantees and the lower than 

planned enrollment in the pilot pre/post survey was due to privacy concerns raised by the stations that were 

asked to share their clients’ contact information. A successful approach is to build a flexible data collection 

protocol to handle these privacy concerns and allow for a smoother and consistent data collection procedure 

across grantees. The pilot pre/post survey demonstrates that to preserve the true baseline, the data collection 

should be embedded into the enrollment process. Doing so would minimize the possibility that clients had started 

receiving services prior to enrolling in the study. Moreover, participants may be more likely to consent when 

asked by the grantee or station during their initial enrollment. Grantees and stations could align enrollment 

procedures with their regular contacts with participants; and the programs might have more confidence that the 

participants did consent to the study protocol. This might make the grantees more willing to provide information 

on the participants for follow-up data collection in a longitudinal study. 
Page 39

Appendix A: Questionnaire 

ENGLISH -- MAIN SURVEY for ESTABLISHED clients 

Study 3 Senior Corps Independent Living Evaluation Survey 

OMB Control Number 3045-0154 Expires 09/30/2016 

REVISED August 28, 2013 

Client Consent Process 

Telephone survey 

My name is (name) and I work at JBS International. The Corporation for National and Community Service, the 

agency that supports the Senior Companion Program, has asked JBS to do a survey with people who use Senior 

Companion services. The purpose is to learn how the support of a Senior Companion may affect your life, and to 

improve our services. This is a new nationwide study and your input is important. 

INTERVIEWER: Read the following to all respondents: 

Participation in this survey is voluntary and will not affect your access to Senior Companion services. You may 

choose not to answer particular questions or not to take the survey at all. Only group results will be reported. No 

individual results will be reported. Do you have any questions? 

Would you be willing to take a survey? 

If YES, continue. 

If NO, thank the person and end the call. 

“The survey will take about 20 minutes. Do you have some time to answer questions now?”

If YES, continue. 

If NO, ask for a better time to do the survey, and write the time to call back. 

To begin the survey, say: 

“Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. All information will be confidential.”

“Let’s begin the survey. For each question, I will read the question and all the answers options first, and then I will 

write down the answer you give me. You may choose not to answer questions.” (Continue to questions and go 

through the survey.)

1. Sponsoring Organization (PRELOAD 1-4 IN ACCESS FROM THE SAMPLE LIST) 
Page 40

This section will be pre-loaded based on information gathered from the project director or another 

representative from the sponsoring organization. 

_________________________________ _________________ 

Organization Name Grant Number 

2. Name of Client (PRELOAD)

______________________ ____ ________________________ 

First Middle Last 

3. Salutation used for the client (PRELOAD)

1. Ms. or Mrs. 

2. Mr.

5. Date of the interview 

_______________ ______ ____________ 

Month Day Year 

Part 1: First I want to start with questions about you and your Senior Companion services. 

I want to ask you a few questions about yourself. Your answers will help us understand who is 

participating in this survey. 

6. In what month and year were you born? 

a. Month 

01. JAN 

02. FEB 

03. MAR 

04. APR 

05. MAY 

06. JUN 

07. JUL 

08. AUG 

09. SEP 
Page 41

10. OCT 

11. NOV 

12. DEC 

98. Don’t Know

99. Refuse 

b. Year _______________ 

8888. Don’t Know

9999. Refuse 

7. Do you consider yourself of Hispanic or Latino origin? 

1. Yes 

2. No

8. Don’t know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

8. What is your race? Please select one or more. [READ OPTIONS 1-5 ONLY] 

1. White 

2. Black or African American 

3. Asian 

4. Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 

5. American Indian or Alaskan Native 

6. Other 

8. Don’t Know

9. I prefer not to answer 

9. Are you currently married, have a partner as if married, separated, divorced, widowed, or never married? 

1. Married 

2. Have partner 

3. Separated 

4. Divorced 

5. Widowed 

6. Never Married 

7. Other 

8. I prefer not to answer 

10. INTERVIEWER: Please note if the interview will proceed with the client, an assistant or proxy 

reporter? 

1. Senior Companion Client [START WITH QUESTION 11 AND WORK THROUGH THE 

ENTIRE MAIN SURVEY] 
Page 42

2. Assisting Client to complete survey where Client provides response [START WITH 

QUESTION 11 AND WORK THROUGH THE ENTIRE SURVEY] 

IF USING AN ASSISTANT: 

a) Reasons an Assistant is needed (e.g., specify types of impairment): _______ 

b) Relationship of Assistant to client (e.g., spouse, adult child, another relative, 

family friend, primary caregiver): ____________________ 

c) Client has given consent for an interview to be conducted with Assistant: 

________ (yes/no). Do not proceed if answer is NO. If YES, GO TO MAIN 

SURVEY.

3. Proxy for Senior Companion Client by answering the survey on behalf of the Client 

IF USING A PROXY: 

a) Reasons a proxy is needed (e.g., specify types of impairment): _______ 

b) Relationship of proxy to client (e.g., spouse, adult child, another relative, family 

friend, primary caregiver): ____________________ 

c) Client has given consent for an interview to be conducted with proxy: ________ 

(yes/no). Do not proceed if answer is NO. If YES, GO TO PROXY SURVEY.

First, I would like to ask you about how you feel about different aspects of your life. 

Life satisfaction 

11. Please think about your life-as-a-whole. How satisfied are you with it? Are you satisfied or not 

satisfied? [Check one box] 

If satisfied: Are you...

1. Completely satisfied 

2. Very satisfied 

3. Somewhat satisfied 

If not satisfied: Are you...

4. Not very satisfied 

5. Not at all satisfied 

8. Don’t know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 
Page 43

Health 

Next I have questions about your health. 

12. Would you say your health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor? [Check one box] 

1. Excellent 

2. Very good 

3. Good 

4. Fair 

5. Poor 

8. Don’t know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

13. Has a medical doctor ever told you that you...

1. 2. 8. 9. 

Yes No Don’t Refuse

know

a. Have high blood pressure or hypertension? 

b. Have diabetes or high blood sugar?

c. Have cancer or a 

cancer? 

malignant tumor, excluding minor skin 

d. Have chronic 

emphysema? 

lung disease such as chronic bronchitis or 

e. Had a heart attack, coronary heart disease, angina, congestive 

heart failure, or other heart problems? 

f. Had a stroke? 

14. Have you ever had or has a doctor ever told you that you ...

1. 2. 8. 9. 

Yes No Don’t Refuse

know

g. Had any emotional, nervous, or psychiatric problems?

h. Have arthritis, osteoarthritis, or rheumatism?

We would like to understand difficulties people may have with various activities because of an illness or 

health or physical problem. Please tell me whether you have any difficulty doing each of the everyday 

activities that I am going to read. 

15. Because of a health problem do you have any difficulty with...
Page 44

1. 2. 3. Can’t 4. Don’t 8. 9. 

Yes No do do Don’t Refuse

Know

a. Walking one block? 

b. Getting up from a 

chair after sitting for 

long periods? 

c. Reaching or 

extending your arms 

above shoulder level

16. Does any impairment or health problem limit the kind or amount of work you can do around the 

house? 

1. Yes GO TO Q17 

2. No GO TO Q18 

3. Too old to work GO TO Q17 

8. Don’t know GO TO Q18 

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) GO TO Q18 

17. Does this limitation keep you from working around the house altogether? 

1. Yes 

2. No

8. Don’t know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

18. Part of this study is concerned with people's memory, and ability to think about things. First, how 

would you rate your memory at the present time? Would you say it is excellent, very good, good, fair 

or poor? 

1. Excellent 

2. Very good 

3. Good 

4. Fair 

5. Poor 

8. Don’t know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

Now think about the past week and the feelings you have experienced. Please tell me if each of the 

following was true for you much of the time during the past week. 
Page 45

19. Much of the time during the past week...

1. 2. 8. 9. 

Yes No Don’t Refuse

Know

a. you felt depressed. 

b. you had a lot of energy. 

Self-Efficacy

Now please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following: 

20. I can do just about anything I really set my mind to. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? 

If disagree: Do you 

1. Strongly disagree 

2. Somewhat disagree or 

3. Slightly disagree 

If agree: Do you 

4. Slightly agree 

5. Somewhat agree or 

6. Strongly agree 

21. I can do the things that I want to do. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? 

If disagree: Do you 

1. Strongly disagree 

2. Somewhat disagree or 

3. Slightly disagree 

If agree: Do you 

4. Slightly agree 

5. Somewhat agree or 

6. Strongly agree 

Social Loneliness 

22. How much of the time do you feel that you are alone? Would you say often, some of the time, or 

hardly ever or never [Check one box] 

1. Often 

2. Some of the time 

3. Hardly ever or never 
Page 46

8. Don’t know

9. I prefer not to answer

23. How much of the time do you feel that you lack companionship? Would you say often, some of the 

time, or hardly ever or never [Check one box]

1. Often 

2. Some of the time 

3. Hardly ever or never 

8. Don’t know

9. I prefer not to answer 

Emotional Loneliness

24. How much of the time do you feel that there are people you feel close to? Would you say often, some 

of the time, or hardly ever or never [Check one box]

1. Often

2. Some of the time 

3. Hardly ever or never

8. Don’t know

9. I prefer not to answer 

25. How much of the time do you feel that there are people you can turn to? Would you say often, some of 

the time, or hardly ever or never [Check one box] 

1. Often 

2. Some of the time 

3. Hardly ever or never

8. Don’t know

9. I prefer not to answer 

Part 2: Performance Measure

The next question is about how many hours of service you receive in a typical week from your senior 

companion.

Tell us how many TOTAL HOURS in a typical week you received services.

Here is an example of how Mrs. Jones would answer question #1:

Her Senior Companion usually spends one hour on Monday with Mrs. Jones and two hours on Wednesday. 
Page 47

Therefore, the total hours a week that she receives services is 3 hours a week. 

26. In a typical week, how many hours is your/CLIENT Senior Companion Volunteer

is with you/CLIENT?

27. Because I Have a Senior Companion Volunteer ...

If Disagree, Do you... If Agree, Do you...

1. 2. 3. 4. 

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Agree

a. I feel less lonely. Do you agree or disagree?

b. I feel I have close ties to more people. Do you 

agree or disagree?

c. I am able to do more of the things I need to 

do. Do you agree or disagree?

d. I am able to do more things I want to do. Do 

you agree or disagree?

e. I can remain living in my own home. Do you 

agree or disagree?

f. I am eating regularly scheduled meals. Do 

you agree or disagree?

g. I am able to get to medical appointments. Do 

you agree or disagree?

h. I am able to get to the grocery store. Do you 

agree or disagree?

i. I am able to take care of other necessary 

errands/appointments Do you agree or 

disagree?

j. I am more satisfied with my life. Do you agree 

or disagree?
Page 48

k. Overall, I am satisfied with my Senior 

Companion volunteer. Do you agree or 

l.

disagree?

Overall, the Senior Companion Program has 

met my expectations. Do you agree or 

disagree?

Part 3: Background questions about the client 

I want to ask a few more questions about yourself. Your answers will help us understand the 

characteristics of the people who participated in this survey. 

28. What is your Veteran Status? [READ OPTIONS 1-5] [Check all that apply] 

1. None, not a veteran 

2. Active duty or Reserve Component 

3. Military family 

4. Veteran 

5. Family of veteran 

8. Don’t Know

9. I prefer not to answer 

29. What is the highest grade of school or year of college you completed? [READ ONLY IF NECESSARY] 

1. No formal education 

2. Grades 1- 11

3. Grade 12 (High School Diploma or GED) 

4. Some College 

5. Associate’s Degree

6. Bachelor’s Degree/ College Graduate

7. Some graduate school 

8. Completed a graduate/professional degree 

9. Other 

10. I don’t know 

11. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

30. Are you male or female? [INTERVIEWER: Ask only if you do not know from Q3 above; or there is a 

discrepancy with what is listed as the respondent’s gender.]

1. Female 

2. Male 

8. Not answered/Don’t Know

9. Refused 

Household 
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31. Do you generally live alone or with others? 

1. Alone GO TO Q33 

2. With others GO TO Q32 

8. Don’t Know GO TO Q33 

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) GO TO Q33 

32. IF LIVING WITH OTHERS: Including yourself, how many people live in your household? 

Number ___________________________ 

33. How many children do you have? 

 Number of children_____________ GO TO Q34 

0. None GO TO Q35 

8. Don’t Know GO TO Q35 

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) GO TO Q35 

34. IF HAS CHILDREN: Do any of your children live within 10 miles of you?

1. Yes 

2. No 

8. Don’t Know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

Medicare and Medicaid 

The next question is about health insurance. Medicare is a public health insurance program for people 65 or older 

and for disabled persons. (Medicaid/STATE NAME FOR MEDICAID) is a public health insurance program for 

people with low incomes. 

35. Are you currently covered by Medicare health insurance? 

1. Yes 

2. No

8. Don’t Know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

36. Are you currently covered by (Medicaid/STATE NAME FOR MEDICAID)? 

1. Yes 

2. No

8. Don’t Know

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 
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Income 

37. Which category best describes your total annual household income? 

 Is your total annual household income greater than $20,000 or less than that? 

1. Less [End of Interview] 

2. Greater GO TO Q38 

8. Don’t Know [End of Interview] 

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) [End of Interview] 

38. IF MORE THAN $20,000: Would you say it is...... 

1. Between $20,000 but less than $30,000 

2. Between $30,000 but less than $40,000 or 

 3. More than $40,000 

8. Don’t Know 

9. Refuse (I prefer not to answer) 

[End of Interview – Interviewer]: 

This is the last question to our survey. We thank you for participating in our survey. If you have any 

questions regarding this survey, please contact Don Pratt at JBS International, Inc. at 650.373.4984. 
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Appendix B: Weights Calculation 

Weighting is necessary to account for differential probabilities of selection and to reduce potential bias due to 

nonresponse and differential coverage of subpopulations. Although weighting adjustments are aimed at reducing 

bias, these adjustments typically introduce variation in the weights, which increases the variances of survey 

estimates. Care was taken in the development and implementation of the weighting methodology to balance the 

bias reductions against the potential increases in variance. 

The study was designed to have three strata, grantees with low, medium and large volumes of clients. The Large 

stratum was composed of four large projects. One had only institutional clients and was considered out of frame. 

Only one of the three remaining large projects participated. In fact, two of the four non-participating grantees were 

in this stratum. As a result, the Large stratum had only one project and this stratum was combined with the 

Medium stratum for weighting purposes. This meant that the weights were calculated using two strata “Small” 

and “Medium and Large”.

Sampling weights were calculated as the inverse of the selection probability. Non-response weights were 

calculated as the inverse of the response rate. 

1. The first weight component accounted for the grantees’ probability of selection. Grantees were selected PPS 

within stratum. Since we did not have information on the number of established clients receiving services, 

the sampling selection used a size measure defined to be the number of clients grantees reported for 2011. 

The weight calculation was as follows: 

Grantee selection weight = Stratum size / (Size of grantee * Number of grantees selected) 

2. Since not all grantees participated, the weights include a non-response adjustment for grantees. The 

calculation was as follows: 

Grantee non-response weight = Number of grantees / Number of grantees responding. 

For example, in one stratum, eight of the nine grantees responded, resulting in a non-response weight of 9/8. 

3. The next weight accounted for the probability that a station within grantee was sampled. Senior Corps grantees 

usually serve clients at stations that are at locations of community service organizations. At larger grantees, a 

sample of stations was selected using simple random sampling. The station weight formula was as follows: 

Station weight = Total stations at grantee / Number of sampled stations 

For example, if a grantee had 15 stations and five were selected, the station weight was 15/5. 
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4. The weight calculations included a weight adjustment for the fact that not all eligible clients had contact 

information. This weight was calculated as follows: 

 Contact weight = number of eligible clients / number with contact information. 

For example, if a grantee had 30 eligible clients and provided contacts for 20, the contact weight was 30/20. 

5. Finally, there was a weight to account for client non-response within grantee. 

Client non-response = Number of eligible clients with contact information / Number of interviews 

For example, if the grantee provided 25 names, and 20 clients completed interviews then the weight was 25/20. 

6. The composite weight for a client interview was a product of the five weights described above. 

7. The final step was to normalize the weights so that the sum of the weights equaled the number of interviews. To 

do this, we multiplied the composite weight by the following normalization factor: 

Normalization factor = Number of interviews/Sum of the weights 

Tables B.1 and B.2 below show the impact of the weights on the distribution of interviews across strata using all 

three strata as well as the collapsed weights using the two strata calculations. 

Table B.1 Weights with two strata collapsed into one 

Sum

Stratum Clients 2011 

Sample

Eligible 

clients*

Intervie

ws

Sum of 

weights

Medium 9,455 2,372 427 494 

Large

Small 960 290 130 63 

Total 10,415 2,662 557 557 

Percent

Strata Clients 2011 

Sample

Eligible 

clients*

Intervie

ws

Sum of 

weights

Medium 91% 89% 77% 89%

Large

Small 9% 11% 23% 11%

Total 100% 100% 100% 100%

* Includes estimate for one non-responding client. All other non-respondents provided data. 
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Table B.2. Weights with all three strata 

Sum

Stratum

Clients 

2011 

Universe

Clients 

2011 

Sample

Eligible 

clients* Interviews Sum of weights

Large 4,874 3,784 1,152 44 252

Medium 9,112 5,671 1,220 383 254

Small 1,626 960 290 130 501

Total 15,612 10,415 2,662 557 557

Percent

Stratum

Clients 

2011

Universe

Clients 

2011 

Sample

Eligible 

clients Interviews Sum of weights

Large 31% 36% 43% 8% 45%

Medium 58% 54% 46% 69% 46%

Small 10% 9% 11% 23% 9%

* Includes estimate for one non-responding client. All other non-respondents provided data. 
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