TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of community in facilitating service utilization
AU - Daro, Deborah
AU - McCurdy, Karen
AU - Falconnier, Lydia
AU - Winje, Carolyn
AU - Anisfeld, Elizabeth
AU - Katzev, Aphra
AU - Keim, Ann
AU - LeCroy, Craig
AU - McGuigan, William
AU - Nelson, Carnot
PY - 2007/8/23
Y1 - 2007/8/23
N2 - Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.
AB - Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548836822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34548836822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1300/J005v34n01_09
DO - 10.1300/J005v34n01_09
M3 - Article
C2 - 17890199
AN - SCOPUS:34548836822
SN - 1085-2352
VL - 34
SP - 181
EP - 204
JO - Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community
JF - Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community
IS - 1-2
ER -