A process evaluation tool for a rural community outreach program for Medicaid-eligible elderly in an Area Agency on Aging

Process evaluations provide information on whether or not a program or intervention is delivered or received as intended. The purpose of this study is to describe the design of a process evaluation of an aging resource center's media campaign used as part of strategic outreach to community-dwelling elderly in rural Florida. Elder Options is an aging resource center that also serves as the Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging, which is using media (print, radio, television, and agency literature) to reach out to Medicaid-eligible elderly in the most rural counties of its service area in an effort to enroll more older adults in home- and community-based services (HCBS) and prevent nursing home admissions. The evaluation design is built from existing program process frameworks and consists of four process evaluation components: fidelity, dose, reach, and context. The framework described in this study also provides information regarding the steps taken in designing and implementing the process evaluation, which Elder Options plans to use after the first 12 months of the media campaign's implementation.