Effects of Nonprofessional Home Visit Programs for Subclinically Unhappy and Unhealthy Older Adults

A special subgroup of community dwelling elderly are the subclinically unhappy and unhealthy who often fall between the professional and community services cracks. On the one hand, their symptoms are not severe enough to warrant professional attention. On the other hand, their symptoms may make them less likely to seek out and participate in community organizations such as senior's activity groups. Thirty such older adults were screened from 82 referrals and randomly assigned to one of three conditions thatprovided nonprofessional home visits involving accompanied walking or conversation and a wait-list control. Results indicate that, at least in the short term, both home visit conditions had a positive effect on happiness compared to no home visits. Only the walking condition had the additional benefit of increasing subjective health ratings. The implications of these findings for organizations interested in the well-being of this hard-to-reach subgroup of older adults are discussed.