Intergenerational Practice in the Community—What Does the Community Think?

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Kenning, Gail
Ee, Nicole
Xu, Ying
Luu, Billy L
Ward, Stephanie A
Goldwater, Micah B
Lewis, Ebony
Radford, Katrina
Anstey, Kaarin J
Lautenschlager, Nicola T
Fitzgerald, Janna Anneke
Rockwood, Kenneth
Peters, Ruth
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2021
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Abstract

The many changes that occur in the lives of older people put them at an increased risk of being socially isolated and lonely. Intergenerational programs for older adults and young children can potentially address this shortfall, because of the perceived benefit from generations interacting. This study explores whether there is an appetite in the community for intergenerational programs for community dwelling older adults. An online survey was distributed via social media, research team networks, and snowballing recruitment with access provided via QR code or hyperlink. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with potential participants of a pilot intergenerational program planned for the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia in 2020. The interviews were thematically analyzed. Over 250 people completed the survey, and 21 interviews took place with older adults (10) and parents of young children (11). The data showed that participants were all in favor of intergenerational programs, but there were different perceptions about who benefits most and how. The study highlighted considerations to be addressed in the development of effective and sustainable intergenerational programs. For example, accessing people in the community who are most socially isolated and lonely was identified as a primary challenge. More evidence-based research is needed to support involvement of different cohorts, such as those who are frail, or living with physical or cognitive limitations.

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Social Sciences

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10

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10

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© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Human society

Law and legal studies

Social Sciences

Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary

Social Sciences - Other Topics

intergenerational

social isolation

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Kenning, G; Ee, N; Xu, Y; Luu, BL; Ward, SA; Goldwater, MB; Lewis, E; Radford, K; Anstey, KJ; Lautenschlager, NT; Fitzgerald, JA; Rockwood, K; Peters, R, Intergenerational Practice in the Community—What Does the Community Think?, Social Sciences, 2021, 10 (10), pp. 374

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