The Effectiveness of Peer-to-Peer Community Support to Promote Aging in Place
The Effectiveness of Peer-to-Peer Community Support to Promote Aging in Place
The investigators' overall objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of peer-to-peer support programs in preventing the necessity of acute health care and nursing home services for older adult populations and in promoting their health and wellness. The investigators' Specific Aims are:
The investigators will accomplish the aims by conducting a longitudinal comparative-effectiveness study in which at-risk older adult study participants in three communities across the US are followed for 12-months. Using a quasi-experimental design, investigators will compare outcomes in those receiving peer-to-peer community support to those receiving standard community services.
At all three sites investigators will include 120 older adults in the peer-to-peer support group and 120 in the standard community services group for a total intervention group size of 360 (120 from each site) and 360 in the control group (120 from each site).
Study Outcomes & Measures To meet the first two aims investigators will (1) compare annualized rates of hospitalization, ED use, and nursing home placement and (2) examine the changes in self-reported health, depression, anxiety, and other measures of well-being in the group receiving peer-to-peer support compared to the group receiving standard community services from baseline to the end of study enrolment. The investigators describe each of our outcomes and additional study measures in detail below. Measures have been translated and used in Spanish and have been shown to be valid or have high reliability in Spanish
Inclusion Criteria:
Overall
≥65 years of age
Speaks English or Spanish
Lives independently in their community year-round
Meet the community defined criterion for receiving peer-to-peer support (at least one of the following)
Enrolled in the peer-to-peer support program and have an assigned peer volunteer
Exclusion Criteria:
< 65
Score ≤ 30 on the Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status (TICS) because they will not have the ability to complete the survey
State that it is unlikely that they will receive peer-to-peer support services for at least a year. Individuals who are unlikely to receive at least a year of services include those who need short-term help after a surgery and are likely to return to full functioning and those planning to transition to nursing home care or move away.