The Ohio State University

About Community Outreach

OSU and Heritage Day Health Centers:  Helping Older Disabled Adults Stay Independent

Holly I Dabelko, Assistant Professor, OSU College of Social Work
Erica Drewry, Executive Director, Heritage Day Health Centers

The older adult population is expected to grow by 15% from 35 million in 2000 to 40 million by 2010.  Many of these older adults need community-based supports to continue living in their own homes.  Staying at home respects the older person’s autonomy and independence and is less expensive than institutional care. Adult day care programs are an important provider of long term care that allows individuals at risk of nursing home placement to maintain community-based living.

Through a grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation administered through the Gerontological Society of America, the OSU College of Social Work has partnered with Heritage Day Health Centers (HDHC) to increase our understanding of the impact adult day care has on its participants’ well-being.  HDHC opened one the of first adult day centers in Central Ohio in the mid-1970s.  Today, HDHC has grown to operate the multiple programs at four different locations serving hundreds of older adults and caregivers every day.

Adult day programs are increasingly becoming important providers of long-term care in the U.S.  Though varying tremendously in scope, most adult day programs provide nutritional, health, social and recreational services for older adults during day time hours.  The heterogeneity of programs, participants and funding sources creates challenges in defining and measuring participant outcomes of adult day services.  There appear to be two main domains of influence that adult day programs can have on participants: physical health functioning and psycho-social well-being.  The study of the potential psycho-social benefits of adult day services to participants has been neglected. The purpose of our partnership is to develop and test a new conceptual model for examining the participant outcomes in adult day services programs, taking into consideration the variability in participant needs and program design and delivery.  A new model is needed in order to secure current and future funding for community-based services for older adults. 

The model was developed using an interdisciplinary team of staff with Heritage Day and older adult participants.  Faculty, graduate research assistants and graduate field interns are involved in testing the efficacy of the model.  Qualitative findings from this partnership have already been shared with other programs in the state through the Ohio Association of Adult Day Services.  The National Association of Adult Day Services has asked the partners to act as consultants as national outcomes standards are developed.

Community practitioners are being asked to demonstrate participant outcome data without the information and knowledge to do so.  This partnership has enabled the development of meaningful participant outcome measures through a community participatory process of exchange and involvement.

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