Reflections on the Dynamics of a Student-Organized Intergenerational Visiting Program to Promote Social Connectedness

ABSTRACT

As part of a directed research class in gerontology, a University of Hawai’i undergraduate student organized an intergenerational visiting program to increase social connections among potentially isolated residents of a local-assisted living facility. Fourteen student volunteers and 10 residents participated in the program. The students had no prior formal volunteer training. Over time, relationships among students and residents developed and flourished. The student organizer offers reflections on the experience, reasons for its success, and suggestions for future developments.

KEYWORDS:

• Intergenerational programs
• assisted living facilities
• social isolation
• service-learning
• social connectedness

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all the residents, students, activity director, and all the wonderful staff members at the assisted living facility. It was a privilege to be a part of this experience. Thank you to my mentor, Dr. Perkinson, for being my role model and guiding me through everything.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kendall Horan

Kendall Horan, BS, OTS was graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Currently pursuing a doctorate in occupational therapy at Creighton University-Denver pathway. She has a passion for geriatrics.

Margaret A. Perkinson

Margaret A. Perkinson, PhD, FGSA, FAGHE, FSfAA, is a medical and applied anthropologist. She currently serves as director of the Center on Aging at University of Hawaii and has conducted gerontological research for over 35 years. She was a faculty member of Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University and was Senior Research Scientist at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center. She was a founding faculty member of the NAPA-OT Field School in Antigua, Guatemala, where she directed the gerontology component. She is editor-in-chief of Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology and co-edited the textbook, Occupational Therapy with Aging Adults, with Karen F. Barney, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA.