Beyond p Values: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Aging Mastery Program Implementation in Los Angeles County

Background: The National Council on Aging's Aging Mastery Program (AMP) aims to help older adults implement health behavior and lifestyle changes to promote healthy aging. The purpose of this community-partnered evaluation was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation in Los Angeles, and understand participant outcomes beyond the findings of a randomized waitlist controlled trial. Objectives: The purpose of this qualitative process evaluation was to deepen our understanding of participant outcomes and potential site-level implementation issues with the randomized waitlist controlled trial, as participant and site lead satisfaction ratings were very high. Methods: After the intervention was completed, interviews were conducted with site directors to understand potential challenges or barriers in the implementation of AMP, participant feedback were reviewed for common themes, and focus groups were conducted to elicit additional insight feedback. Results: Analysis of interviews with site directors revealed that the study design was characterized by its complexity, but that the overall AMP program was very compatible with the sites' goals and met the needs of the participants. The participants reported greater interest in nutrition and healthy eating, the importance of exercise and `preparing' for important life decisions, which were not captured through the measures used in the waitlist controlled trial. Conclusions: Future evaluations of the AMP should continue the use of mixed methods evaluation designs in order to understand both the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the program, and consider including measures of other constructs, such as socialization, that have been identified by the participants.