CHAMPS III

This project diffused the research-based CHAMPS II into three diverse community settings to reach minority (primarily Latino and African American) and lower income seniors. The goal was to establish an adapted version of the program that would be offered as an ongoing program by these sites. The diffusion process involved working with staff and community members at each agency to adapt CHAMPS to accommodate sites' limited resources, and to be culturally appropriate and sustainable.

Community Programs

The CHAMPS III programs, adapted to diverse communities, varied substantially from the original CHAMPS II program and from one another. These programs were:

  1. Seniors In Motion for Health (SIM)
  2. Siempre Activo/Always Active
  3. Aging with Energy

Research Design

  1. Evaluation methods used included program evaluation approach (formative and process evaluation), individual-level change in physical activity, nature of final program at each site, evaluation of the programs by participants, and evaluation of programs by site staff and directors.
  2. Formative evaluation included focus groups and individual interviews conducted with community members during the planning stages of the project to learn how to adapt the program to meet each community's needs and ensure that the program is sensitive to cultural differences.
  3. Process evaluation included open-ended interviews with site staff and directors. This evaluation summarized the processes of working together including problems faced, solutions, and issues.
  4. Individual physical activity changes were measured by a questionnaire, asking participants about their level of physical activities, at the time participants joined the program (baseline) and at six months. Also at six months, participants completed a short form about their perceptions of the program and suggestions for improving it. Both of these are summarized as part of the program evaluation process, and the information is provided to sites for their own use in obtaining future funding for the programs and to revise the programs to better meet the needs of the participants.
  5. Other methods include evaluating multi-level changes that occurred as a result of the programs and numbers of attendees at the program activities.

CHAMPS III Manual
The CHAMPS III manual is under development.

Funding Agency

The California Endowment
Grant No. 1998/296