IMPROVING DIETARY PRACTICES OF ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS - THE POWER OF PROMPTING, FEEDBACK, AND SOCIAL-REINFORCEMENT

Three intervention packages consisting of (a) enhanced prompts, feedba ck, and social reinforcement; (b) a lottery; and (c) serving as a conf ederate were added and removed in sequence as adjacent conditions in a n extended withdrawal design to assess their effects on the dietary ch oices of elderly persons. Participants were 3 elderly residents of an independent living facility who were identified as making consistently poor dietary choices and who had medical conditions that necessitated changes in their eating habits. All 3 participants demonstrated a mar ked increase in healthy choices of food items in response to the packa ge of enhanced prompts, feedback, and social reinforcement. No additio nal increase occurred with the introduction of the lottery and serving as a confederate. Food-choice data indicated that most of these impro vements could be attributed to healthier entree and dessert choices. G roup data for all residents suggested small improvements in dietary pr actices during the three intervention conditions, with the largest pro portion of the group's healthy choices occurring when the lottery was added to enhanced prompts, feedback, and social reinforcement. Food ch oice data indicated that most of these improvements could be attribute d to healthier dessert choices alone.