scholarly journals NON-FAMILIAL INTERGENERATIONAL NETWORK TIES: MOVING THE NEEDLE ON MEASUREMENT

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S626-S626
Author(s):  
Shannon E Jarrott

Abstract GSA and other professional organizations recognize the threat that ageism poses to the country’s health and welfare, from its youngest to oldest citizens. Reframing Aging involves communication and outreach strategies to inform the conversation about aging and its implications. Non-familial intergenerational relationships can support the Reframing Aging initiative. By fostering positive, intentional, and mutually beneficial interactions, intergenerational exchange can achieve a variety of individual, relational, and community goals. Measures of their impact should reflect these goals; unfortunately, intergenerational network ties are typically represented by measures of young people’s attitudes towards older adults. Practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and funders need additional indicators to document the best practices and potential impact of non-familial intergenerational programs. Reflecting recent systematic surveys of measurements and 20 years of intergenerational research, the current paper addresses challenges of measuring non-familial intergenerational relationships and presents select measures appropriate for common network ties.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S625-S626
Author(s):  
Shannon E Jarrott ◽  
Karen Hooker ◽  
Nancy Morrow-Howell

Abstract GSA and other agencies have undertaken to “Reframe Aging” to reduce pervasive global ageism, which has been associated with negative attitudes towards and disinterest in working with older adults and poor health in old age. Familial and non-familial intergenerational contact, that is between members of non-adjacent generations, provides valuable opportunities to reduce ageism through relationships. However, much of the research on intergenerational relationships focuses on attitudes, usually those young people hold about older adults and aging. We propose that attention should shift towards measuring the relationship and giving voice to both younger and older partners. Presenters will address a range of intergenerational relationships focusing on their measurement as a means to advance the Reframing Aging initiative, including examples, challenges, and recommendations. Jarrott will provide an overview of the Reframing Aging initiative and address measurement of non-familial intergenerational relationship. This will be complemented by Pillemer’s focus on how universities can reframe aging through intergenerational network ties, including the Cooperative Extension System. Mendoza and Fruhauf will shift attention to familial connections, focusing on grandparent-grandchild caregiving relationships. Turner, Hooker, and Jarrott will present new efforts to develop a validated theory- and evidence-informed measure of intergenerational relationships that can be completed by young and old persons. Discussant Morrow-Howell, past GSA President, will address how a long history of diverse intergenerational solutions can support efforts to reframe aging through enhanced measurement tools and strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 542-542
Author(s):  
Skye Leedahl ◽  
Amy Eisenstein

Abstract Conducting evaluative research on intergenerational programs is key to understanding if they are functioning as intended. Research on program impact is also critical for prioritization and decision-making in an increasingly competitive market with many programming choices. Implementation studies can help researchers identify needed modifications for replication or introduction to new populations, which is particularly important as universities and communities work to become Age-Friendly. There is growing demand by educational entities (e.g., universities, high schools) and organizations that serve older adults (e.g., senior centers, adult day services, lifelong learning institutes, and residential programs) to identify rigorous methods that can be used to analyze outcomes for students and older adults who take part. This symposium focuses on evaluation methods for intergenerational programs and highlights diverse examples of how researchers have evaluated their programs. The presenters will discuss best practices and challenges to conducting research on these programs as well as the findings of the studies. The first paper will discuss the creation of an intergenerational contact measure. The second paper will describe how an intergenerational classroom was examined using data from instructors and students. The third paper will detail how a quasi-experimental design was used to examine outcomes for an intergenerational program on older adult participants. The fourth paper will discuss how data was gathered from various stakeholders to examine the impacts of an intergenerational classroom. Amy Eisenstein, Senior Program Officer at RRF Foundation for Aging will serve as the discussant. Intergenerational Learning, Research, and Community Engagement Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihong Kuang ◽  
Guojun Zeng ◽  
Yunbo Nie ◽  
Yan Cai ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
...  

UNSTRUCTURED The COVID-19 pandemic spurred unprecedented progress on a paradigm shift to telemedicine to limit exposure to the virus. Telemedicine has many benefits. In the West China Hospital of Sichuan University, we use it to do COVID-19 related tele-educations to health professionals and general population, tele-diagnosis, online treatment and internet-based drug prescription and delivery. However, at our practices, we are noticing that many older adults could not make appointment with doctors due to their difficulty using the internet-based platform. We worried that older adults who need healthcare the most are not well prepared for this rapid change. We need to pay attention to avoid causing treatment disparities for vulnerable older adults 60 years of age and over. Researchers and policy makers should work together to study effective strategies and make proper policies to mitigate barriers older adults face when using telemedicine.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 498-498
Author(s):  
Yooumi Lee ◽  
Janet Wilmoth

Abstract This study investigates whether intergenerational relationships and social support improve the psychological well-being of Korean older adults. We examine whether intergenerational relationships and social support directly influence psychological well-being and the extent to which they mediate the distressing consequences of life events such as declining health and recent widowhood. Using longitudinal data from the 2006 to 2016 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, we explore depression trajectories among individuals who are 60 or older with at least one living adult child at baseline. Specifically, we converted data from 5,383 older adults into a person-period file with 24,726 observations over a ten-year period. Then we estimated linear growth curve models of depression trajectories separately for men and women using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results from the hierarchical linear models indicate that declining health and recent widowhood are positively related to depressive symptoms. Satisfactory intergenerational relationships and social support in the form of personal interactions and proximate living arrangements with adult children decrease depressive symptoms of older parents, especially among women. We conclude that the psychological benefits of intergenerational relationships and social support are contingent upon the vulnerability of older adults and discuss the implications for public policy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 930-930
Author(s):  
Tara Rose ◽  
Elyse Manzo ◽  
Katherine Erickson ◽  
Joshua Valenzuela

Abstract Music interventions and music therapy have become more common globally as nonpharmacological treatment options for memory loss, pain management, reduction of behavioral and psychological symptoms, and increased quality of life. Knowledge of multiethnic interventions is important when creating evidence-based programs within culturally diverse countries, such as the U.S. The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze music interventions for older adults across the globe to better understand emerging best practices. A review of all trials registered at clinicaltrials.gov and registries in the WHO Registry Network containing the key words “music therapy” were included, regardless of intervention type. Of the 627 studies generated, 449 met the eligibility criteria, with 11% enrolling only older adults and 89% enrolling older adults along with other age groups. Studies were conducted in 6 continents, 48 countries (23% in the U.S.), and in 23 languages. Music interventions for specific medical conditions (64%) or medical procedures (24%) were the primary foci in studies. While studies crossed multiple continents, less than 2% referenced ethnicity or culture in the study details. Detailed data on intervention types, demographics, measures, settings, and methodology will be presented. Results suggest that best practices in music therapy are being developed world-wide for the multitude of health challenges faced by older adults and demonstrate the diversity of music interventions in both medical and community settings. Information from this review can be used to improve the implementation of music intervention programs and may be particularly beneficial in countries with diverse multicultural populations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Katherine Fasullo ◽  
Erik McIntosh ◽  
Susan W. Buchholz ◽  
Todd Ruppar ◽  
Sarah Ailey

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 796-796
Author(s):  
Becky Powers ◽  
Kathryn Nearing ◽  
Studi Dang ◽  
William Hung ◽  
Hillary Lum

Abstract Providing interprofessional geriatric care via telehealth is a unique clinical skillset that differs from providing face-to-face care. The lack of clear guidance on telehealth best practices for providing care to older adults and their care partners has created a systems-based practice educational gap. For several years, GRECC Connect has provided interprofessional telehealth visits to older adults, frequently training interprofessional learners in the process. Using our interprofessional telehealth expertise, the GRECC Connect Education Workgroup created telehealth competencies for the delivery of care to older adults and care partners for interprofessional learners. Competencies incorporate key telehealth, interprofessional and geriatric domains, and were informed by diverse stakeholders within the Veterans Health Administration. During this symposium, comments will be solicited from attendees. Once finalized, these competencies will drive the development of robust curricula and evaluation measures aimed at training the next generation of interprofessional providers to expertly care for older adults via telehealth.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Gleberzon ◽  
Cheryl Hawk ◽  
Paul Dougherty ◽  
Michael J. Schneider ◽  
Mitchell Haas ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Nishida ◽  
M Hanazato ◽  
K Kondo

Abstract Background The connection in a local community has diluted in an aging society, and the importance of intergenerational exchange has increased for older adults' health. Some positive effects of intergenerational exchange have reported. For example, a reciprocal intergenerational exchange contributes to better mental health in later life. However, there is little evidence of the relationship between neighborhood environments causing intergenerational exchange and the health status of older adults. This study investigated the association between geographical accessibility to elementary school, enhancing intergenerational exchange, and depression in older adults. Methods The data were retrieved from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) 2016, a population-based study of independently living people ≥65 years old. The dependent variable is depression evaluated by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS≥5). The geographical accessibility to elementary School is the distance between the representative points of their residences and the nearest elementary school. Logistic regression analysis calculates the odds ratio to determine the association between depression and accessibility to elementary school and compare models to examine the effect of intermediate factors. Results Overall, 20.4% of the participants had depression. Compared with the longest distance from elementary school (≥950m), the odds ratio was 0.91 (95% CI = 0.86, 0.96) for the nearest category (<330m), 0.91 (95% CI = 0.87, 0.96) for the second-nearest (330-490m) and 0.94 (95% CI = 0.89, 0.99) for the third (490-670m) in model 1. After adjusting for intermediate factors, the odds ratio was 0.94 for the first and second-nearest groups. Conclusions Geographical accessibility to elementary school was associated with decreased depression for older adults. The result indicates that older adults' daily meetings with children around elementary schools can result in a positive effect on their mental health. Key messages Geographical accessibility to elementary school was associated with decreased depression for older adults. The neighborhood design enhancing intergenerational exchange might be useful for age-friendly cities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 732-733
Author(s):  
Shannon Jarrott ◽  
Rachel Scrivano ◽  
Nancy Mendoza ◽  
Cherrie Park

Abstract Intergenerational programs facilitate mutually beneficial interactions between youth and older adults, achieving an array of outcomes. With few exceptions, implementation factors rarely figure into outcome analyses, though researchers frequently gather data on factors influencing outcomes. The resulting practice-evidence gap may deter wide-spread adoption of intergenerational programming. We conducted a scoping review of 35 peer-reviewed articles (2000-2019) to map key concepts and evidence sources of empirically-supported practices impacting intergenerational program outcomes. A scoping review is appropriate when an area is complex, like intergenerational programs that incorporate diverse participants, content, and goals. Primarily qualitative studies involved programs equally likely to involve young, school-age, or post-secondary age youth and independent or frail older adults. Half had sample sizes under 50, frequently measuring both age groups. Implementation practices included co-learning and sharing personal stories. Program content (e.g., technology) and greater exposure amplified outcomes. Rigorous implementation research is needed to advance evidence-based intergenerational practice.


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