OUTCOMES OF AN INDIVIDUALIZED HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM FOR HOMEBOUND OLDER COMMUNITY RESIDENTS (AGED).
Contributors: Texas Woman's University.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 168
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Behavioral.; Gerontology.; Education, Health.
Description: A sample of 35 homebound older adults, average age 76.54 years, participated in an experimental eight-week intervention study to investigate the effects of an individualized health promotion program on subsequent health promoting behaviors. The predominately rural sample of 10 males and 25 females, with a median income of $7,944 and a mean educational level of 8.27 years, was obtained from a list of qualified Medicare clients from five home health agencies in a south central state.

The study proposed that bringing an individualized health promotion program to homebound older adults would motivate them to, increase their health promoting behaviors. It further proposed that those who participated in the individualized program would increase their health promoting behaviors more than a similar group that did not.

The intervention was conducted according to the phases of the nurse-client relationship as presented by Pender. Using the Health Promotion Model as a guide, the home health nurse served as a support to assist the homebound older adult in setting and reaching personally relevant health promotion goals.

The dependent variable, outcomes of the individualized health promotion program, was measured using the total scale score of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP). Correlations performed prior to statistical analysis found no significant relationships between demographic data and the total HPLP scores. Analysis of the hypotheses, using t-tests, found no significant change from the pretest to the posttest for the experimental group (n = 17). Statistical analysis also found no significant difference in the pretest to posttest change scores for the experimental group compared to the control (n = 18) group.

Conclusions and implications include a discussion of the research challenges encountered in the homecare setting. Emphasis is given to the acute nature of illness seen in this setting and the implications this increased acuity has for health promotion research with homebound older adults. Recommendations are given for designs to control for extraneous variables in home health research.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-12, Section: B, page: 7458.

Thesis (PH.D.)--TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY, 1996.

School code: 0925.