Shared Site Intergenerational Programs: A National Profile

Figures & data

Table 1. Services provided by shared sites (N = 95).

Variable	Frequency	Percent
For older adults
Adult day services	41	43.2
Residential care (e.g., assisted living)	37	38.9
Nursing home care	37	38.9
Independent senior housing	30	31.6
Short-term rehabilitation	30	31.6
Senior center services and activities	27	28.4
Congregate meal	20	21.1
Recreation center activities	20	21.1
Other (e.g., co-learning opportunities)	10	9.5
For youth
Preschool	52	54.7
Child daycare	42	44.2
Youth summer programs	38	40.0
Before-after school programs	31	32.6
Primary or secondary learning	18	18.9
Recreational center activities	14	14.7
Youth higher education	10	10.5
Other (e.g., co-learning or mentoring)	11	11.6

Note. Respondents indicated they offered multiple youth and/or older adult services at a responding site; therefore, percentages can add up to greater than 100%.

Table 2. Major funding source for intergenerational programming (N = 88).

Funding source	Frequency	Percent
No additional funding source	19	21.5
Additional funding for shared sites	69	78.4
Youth and older adult programs fund jointly	45	51.1
Youth programs	6	6.8
Older adult programs	5	5.7
Grants and donations	13	14.8

Table 3. Intergenerational (IG) program characteristics (N = 95).

Variable	Frequency	Percent
IG program frequency
Once or more per day	34	38.6
1–4 times per week	17	19.3
2–3 times per month	19	21.6
Monthly or seasonally	15	17.0
Person(s) facilitating programming
Youth and older adult program staff	28	31.1
Staff with students/volunteers	15	16.7
IG coordinator and program staff	10	11.1
IG coordinator	10	11.1
IG coordinator and students/volunteers	9	10.0
Older adult program staff	8	8.9
Youth program staff	5	5.6
Volunteers and/or students	5	5.6

Table 4. Perceived priorities and challenges of intergenerational (IG) programming (N = 95).

Survey Item	Frequency	Percent
Priority supported by IG programming
Fostering positive IG relationships	80	93.0
Improving attitudes toward older adults	80	93.0
Improving attitudes toward youth	76	88.4
Promoting participant health/development	75	87.2
Utilizing community members’ talents	68	79.1
Building community capacity	56	65.1
Improving attitudes toward other groups	55	64.0
Financial stability	42	48.8
Relieving caregiver stress	42	48.8
Optimizing use of physical space	41	47.7
Improving workplace climate	41	47.7
IG programming challenges
Demonstrating impact of IG program	63	74.1
Finding/connecting with peer IG programs	62	72.9
Funding IG programming	55	64.7
Staffing IG programming	48	56.5
Locating staff IG training resources	46	54.1
Communicating about the IG program	45	52.9
Locating IG programming resources	40	47.1
Older adults’ interest	37	43.5
Addressing safety or health issues	34	40.03
Space (e.g., sharing or maintaining)	33	38.8
Staff interest	28	32.9
Youth interest	24	28.3
Establishing IG partnerships	24	28.3
Administrators’ interest	14	16.5
Family interest	14	16.5
Other (e.g., licensing regulations)	3	3.5

Note. Respondents indicated multiple responses to two open-ended questions.

Table 5. Qualitative themes of shared sites’ intergenerational (IG) purpose and challenge.

Theme	Representative Quotes
Purpose
Alleviate social isolation	Alleviate social isolation and help older adults live as valued members of the community.
Support learning goals	Help youth develop critical skills as they engage with older adults. Provide adult education that allows for cultural enrichment.
Build compassion and challenge stereotypes	Build mutual respect between the generations. Sharing stories to help them find common ground and develop a deeper understanding of each other.
Challenge
Funding	School grant and contract requirements limit children’s ability to interact with older adults.
Engaging participants	Independent living adults are less interested in organized programming with the children. Some adults cannot engage with children due to their abilities.
Staffing	The biggest challenge is getting childcare staff interested, comfortable engaging with older adults and rec therapy staff.
IG training	High staff turnover requires continuous training.
Communicating	Internal communication is inefficient, limiting opportunities.
Demonstrating impact	Inability to generate quantitative data indicating program value. Much of our data is anecdotal.
Timing	Preschool is 2.5 hours; it’s hard to fit IG in with curriculum.