TY - JOUR AU - Shveta Sanghani AU - Alexis Deavenport AU - Patti Herring AU - S. Eric Anderson AU - Ernie Medina AU - Sanam Kazemi PY - 2010/12/01 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Enhancing wellness by therapeutic lifestyle change: Does cost determine program commitment? JF - Californian Journal of Health Promotion JA - CALIF J HEALTH PROMOT VL - 8 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - 10.32398/cjhp.v8i1.2029 UR - https://journals.calstate.edu/cjhp/article/view/2029 AB - Wellness programs based on therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) interventions have recently demonstrated potential in combating stress and anxiety disorders. Despite this trend, a limited evidence-base exists on whether charging a fee for such programs impacts participant behavior by increasing attendance and retention. This pilot study therefore determined if attendance rate differed for a fee-based program as opposed to a free program amongst a heterogeneous group of participants who had previously experienced significant benefits from an identical stress reduction program. The design was a quasiexperimental, non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest. Data were analyzed using an independent samples t-test. Our preliminary findings demonstrated that participants in the fee-based group had a significantly higher mean of program attendance than those in the free attendance group. Charging fees for wellness programs may be a promising behavior change strategy, increasing attendance and participation, and maximizing program benefits. Nevertheless, more in-depth research is needed to examine participant attitudes toward paid versus free programs. ER -