When targeting elderly clientele, Extension can't assume that what has worked for other groups will work for the elderly.These essential questions need to be answered before designing educational programs for the elderly: Are elderly clientele open to education as a tool to solve problems?What do they already know, and what effect will increased knowledge have?Is Cooperative Extension the best agency to deliver needed information to the elderly?Our study of elderly homeowners in Oklahoma examined the energy information needs of the elderly.The results suggest that Extension will need to network with energy-related businesses to provide needed information. Current SituationThe elderly population continues to be affected by energy costs.1They often live in large, older homes built when energy was cheap and plentiful.Some research suggests that older persons are more sensitive to temperature extremes.Also, those on low, fixed incomes have additional burdens coping with energy costs.Research by Stobaugh and Yergin2 indicates that households can reduce their energy usage in three ways: (1) improve energy conservation behaviors, (2) make structural modifications to existing homes, and/or (3) take advantage of the innovative designs offered by passive solar, active solar, or earth-sheltered housing.Several other means have been suggested specifically to help the elderly with their energy situation.3These include plans for increasing overall financial aid, tax breaks for structural modifications, protection against utility service cutoffs, and direct payments for utility bills.However, these efforts may be costly to taxpayers.Education is often overlooked as an inexpensive way to reduce the energy burden on the elderly. The StudyThe population for this study was elderly head-of-household homeowners who were selected using birthdates on voter registration cards.
Earhart et al. (Mon,) studied this question.