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Funding for the Program
Funding for
the Program
With this encouragement, Kwart and Rosen approached Pierre Lamothe of
the Seniors’ Independence Program (SIP) of Health and Welfare Canada
about the possibility of applying for funds to develop this project. The
idea was received with the encouragement and a preliminary proposal was
submitted, sent out for review, and later an offer was received to submit
a formal grant proposal. This was done in the fall of 1990. In August
1991, notification was received that the grant was approved for two years
to design, implement and evaluate four pilot parent education programs
of six sessions each.
The first series was offered in the Fall of 1991 at BBCCL. An evaluation component was built into the program. Participants were given a questionnaire before and after the six sessions (see Appendix 1). They were asked, how they had heard about the course, what they had expected to learn, whether their expectations had been met, how much they had learned and specific questions about particular concepts that had been stressed in the program. In general, it was very rewarding to discover that there was strong enthusiasm for the program, that a fair amount of learning had taken place, and that the material had been helpful to the participants in their interactions with their adult children and again an interest was expressed in a longer course.
After this course offering, a series of four focus groups were conducted at BBCCL, to explore further the needs of these older parents. The information was taped and analyzed so that the issues identified in these sessions could be integrated into subsequent offerings.
Prior to the second course offered in March 1992 at BBCCL, Kwart and Rosen arranged for publicity for the program in the Toronto Star. A full page article appeared in the “Life” section of the paper, featuring one of the members of the first course and her daughter. The purpose and content of the course were identified.
It was obvious that this material was of interest to a wide range of older adults, as over 80 people showed up for the second course also offered at BBCCL. The members of this group, were not all members of the centre, but were drawn from the whole Metropolitan Toronto area. Several people even attended from a small community about an hour drive from the centre.
Again Rosen and Kwart were encouraged that there was a broader interest in this kind of educational opportunity. There did appear to be a general need on the part of older parents for a greater understanding of relationships in the older family.
Two other courses were offered, one more at BBCCL, and one at the Horner Older Adult Centre in Etobicoke. It was important to offer the program in another venue, to assure that issues that were being addressed were general ones and not germane to a particular group. With very little surprise, it was discovered that the needs and interests of the group in Etobicoke were no different than those expressed in all the other groups that were conducted.
In all, there were approximately
150 older adults ranging in age from 60 to 92, predominantly women but
some men, who attended some or all of the programs offered. For the evaluation
portion of this project we were interested in those participants who attended
all or most of the sessions in their series, and who were in attendance
on the first and last session of their course so that they could complete
both the before and after questionnaires. There were 86 such older parents
in all.