A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Intergenerational Programs.

Alejandro Canedo-García,Deilis-Ivonne Pacheco-Sanz,Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01882

Alejandro Canedo-García, Deilis-Ivonne Pacheco-Sanz + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01882

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Abstract

Purpose of the study: The objective of the present review study is to identify the determinant elements of the effectiveness of empirically based interventions (EBI) in the field of intergenerational work, contrasting face-to-face and combined (face-to-face and virtual) intervention modalities against variables relating to this field according to EBI indicators.Design and Methods: An extensive literature search returned a total of 553 studies. Of these, just 50 studies met the inclusion criteria of being an empirical investigation of the effectiveness of intergenerational programs that contain appropriate elaboration on theoretical constructs and methods.Results: The descriptive and multivariate analysis conducted demonstrates that programs with a greater number of EBI controls have the greatest effectiveness, regardless of the intervention mode employed, and that this effectiveness is also modulated by other variables such as the participants' disabilities, their literacy level, or their membership of an organization.Conclusions: We examined the implications of these findings, noting the need to increase the number of virtual interventions that could improve the efficiency of the activities undertaken, and at the same time ensuring that EBI indicators are also fulfilled.

Highlights

AND OBJECTIVESPublished reviews of the literature on intergenerational programs have shown how these interventions promote satisfaction and quality of life in all the parties involved (Kuehne, 2003)
Purpose of the study: The objective of the present review study is to identify the determinant elements of the effectiveness of empirically based interventions (EBI) in the field of intergenerational work, contrasting face-to-face and combined intervention modalities against variables relating to this field according to EBI indicators
We examined the implications of these findings, noting the need to increase the number of virtual interventions that could improve the efficiency of the activities undertaken, and at the same time ensuring that EBI indicators are fulfilled

Summary

Introduction

AND OBJECTIVESPublished reviews of the literature on intergenerational programs have shown how these interventions promote satisfaction and quality of life in all the parties involved (Kuehne, 2003). Priorities among the European Union is the promotion, through different initiatives and public organisms, of collaborative learning between generations (European Commission, 2012; ECIL, 2013)—that is, the so-called intergenerational programs, which is understood as the activities. Systematic Review of Intergenerational Programs that foster cooperation, interaction, and exchange between two or more generations (Kaplan and Sánchez, 2014). These are appropriate complements for lifelong learning among older adults and for the development of a change in the attitudes that young people exhibit toward the elderly (Borrero, 2015; Park, 2015; Thompson and Weaver, 2016). Many of them present only anecdotal evidence of impact, limited use of theory and standardized measures, assessment of only one generation of participants, and an absence of longitudinal evaluations (Jarrott, 2011)

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