An Intergenerational Summer Program Involving Persons with Dementia and Preschool Children

• Published in: Educational gerontology Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 425 - 441
• Main Authors: Gigliotti, Christina, Morris, Matt, Smock, Sara, Jarrott, Shannon E., Graham, Bonnie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Taylor & Francis Group 01-06-2005; Taylor & Francis Group Journals; Hemisphere
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Dementia; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Preschool Children; Program Evaluation; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Summer Programs; United States; North America; America; Human; Evaluation; Experience; Intergeneration relation; Cost benefit analysis; Child; Elderly; Dementia
• ISSN: 0360-1277; 1521-0472
• DOI: 10.1080/03601270590928161

We implemented an intergenerational (IG) summer program at a colocated site for 2 consecutive summers to maximize continuity and enhance sustainability. We incorporated multiple methods to represent the views of key program stakeholders, including staff and administrators, parents who attended the program, and facilitators' reports of the experiences of child and adult participants. We generated a list of themes and subthemes from each source and triangulated the data points. Despite the resources invested and the challenges faced, the program was well received and viewed as beneficial. These findings offer insight into the likelihood of sustainability for IG summer programming.