How to Conduct an Older Adult Survey

1. Design a survey form to gather the information you want concerning the needs and talents of older adults in your community.
   
   
2. Determine the people you want to survey. Who are your older adults? Who is 65 years of age and older? Where do they reside?
   
   
3. Announce plans for conducting the survey from the pulpit and through the weekly worship bulletin and church newsletter.
   
   
4. Select as many teams of two as possible. Invite mature youth and young adults as well as other adults to participate in conducting the surveys.
   
   
5. Select a time to meet together with your visiting teams at the church.
   
   
   
   • Provide each team with a clipboard, pencil, and survey forms.
     
     
   • Review the survey.
     
     
   • Provide instructions for conducting the interviews.
     
     
   • Agree on people to be visited.
     
     
   • Provide names, addresses, and phone numbers of survey participants.
     
     
   • Encourage each team to contact survey participants prior to conducting the surveys and to set up a day and time to conduct the survey interviews.
     
     
   • If necessary, provide name tags for teams to wear that clearly identifies the interviewers and the name of your church.
     
     
6. When conducting thesurvey interviews:
   
   
   • Be prompt in visiting the survey participants at the agreed-upon day and time.
     
     
   • Introduce yourself, show identification, and state why you are there.
     
     
   • Give the older adult being interviewed a copy of the survey form.
     
     
   • Ask each question on the form and write or print each answer clearly.
     
     
   • Do not over-extend your stay.
     
     
   • Thank the survey participant for taking the time to complete the survey form.
     
     
7. Each team should return the survey forms to the church.
   
   
   • Arrange for a small group to collate the material.
     
     
   • Enter the information received into a database and begin a file on each person.
     
     
   • Send a thank-you note to all older adults who participated in the surveys. Give the general results of the survey, such as number of homes contacted, the three most mentioned needs, and so on.

To access survey forms: Older Adult Surveys