| Abstract: | Family-based short break schemes depend on accessing suitablehosts. Recruitment is seen as a major challenge yet there areno published studies that examine this for adult services. Thispaper aims to redress that by describing what type of personresponded to a campaign to recruit hosts for adults with learningdisabilities, and to explore if there is a relationship between(i) the outcome of each enquiry and the respondents and (ii)outcome and how the respondents found out about the service.The study involved a retrospective examination of documentedinformation about each of forty-nine respondents, supplementedwith telephone contact. The respondents were mainly marriedwomen aged thirty to fifty, with two or more children, fromurban settings and who were employed outside the home. Mosthad heard about the service through newspapers and posters.Thirty-nine per cent applied to host. Age, family size, ageof children and location were associated with outcome. Experiencewas an important predictor of outcome. Word of mouth was themost successful means of recruiting. While broad-based advertisingis shown to attract hosts, the results can be maximized by follow-upof those who do not apply immediately. Implications for servicedelivery and research are discussed. |
