THE STAYWELL PROGRAM - MAXIMIZING ELDERS CAPACITY FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING THROUGH HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES - A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF ITS EFFICACY

The STAYWELL Program, an 8-session health promotion/disease prevention program for older adults, was found to have a significant impact on e lder participants' health-related beliefs and behaviors. This quasi-ex perimental study's 146 participants were recruited from 8 western New York senior citizen centers, and 70% (n = 102) were available for a 9- month follow-up assessment. As compared with elders on a waiting list, study participants who experienced the STAYWELL intervention expresse d significantly healthier beliefs and reported behavioral changes indi cative of a healthier lifestyle al follow-up. All of the intervention effect sizes observed may be characterized as large to very large: (1) The intervention group expressed healthier beliefs as assessed using the healthy belief index-at follow-up, three quarters of them scored h igher on this measure than the average person in the wailing list comp arison group (U-3 = 77.3%); (2) the intervention group engaged in heal thier behaviors as assessed by using the healthy behavior index (U-3 = 92.4%); and (3) they also took fewer medications (U-3 = 74.2%); all p < .05. Extant cohorts in this field (more than 20,000 elders) may off er collaborative opportunities for needed longer follow-up of health o utcome end-points.