Dataset Information

Evaluating Feasibility, Value and Characteristics of an Intergenerational Friendly Telephone Visit Program During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Volunteer organizations offer telephone outreach to older adults to relieve feelings of loneliness and to promote emotional well-being, though the feasibility, perceived value, and characteristics of the participant experience of these community interventions have not been well-studied. We examined these elements of an intergenerational college-based telephone call program during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods

Community-dwelling older adults and undergraduate volunteers engaged in eight, weekly, 30-minute, unscripted telephone conversations. Feasibility criteria included enrollment, retention, and attendance rates. A rapid qualitative analysis of program evaluation responses was used to extract themes related to participants' experiences of the intervention.

Results

Ten older adults (mean age [range] 74.53 [70-84] years, 88% women) and nine undergraduates were enrolled from February to August 2021, achieving recruitment targets and enrollment rates of 76.9% and 90%. Seven out of the 10 enrolled dyads completed the full series of eight telephone conversations and qualitative assessments over an average of 10.5 weeks. Most older adults who completed the call schedule valued the conversations as a source of social connection, noting the mutuality, respect, and broadened perspective that characterized their intergenerational relationships. Undergraduates described value in giving to others and in conversations that stimulated personal reflection and feelings of closeness. Undergraduates frequently described their experience as novel and broadening of their perspectives.

Conclusion

Though study completion rate and participant experience varied across dyads, we found qualitative evidence of perceived value, active relationship-building and broadened perspectives among many older adults and undergraduates who completed an intergenerational telephone program.

SUBMITTER: Kumar AB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9788847 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Evaluating Feasibility, Value and Characteristics of an Intergenerational Friendly Telephone Visit Program During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Kumar Anagha B AB Zide Benjamin S BS Bhardwaj Twisha T Lipschitz Jessica M JM Altman Abby N AN Donovan Nancy J NJ

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 20221224 5

<h4>Objective</h4>Volunteer organizations offer telephone outreach to older adults to relieve feelings of loneliness and to promote emotional well-being, though the feasibility, perceived value, and characteristics of the participant experience of these community interventions have not been well-studied. We examined these elements of an intergenerational college-based telephone call program during the Covid-19 pandemic.<h4>Methods</h4>Community-dwelling older adults and undergraduate volunteers ...[more]

PMID: 36635117

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Dataset Information

Evaluating Feasibility, Value and Characteristics of an Intergenerational Friendly Telephone Visit Program During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Evaluating Feasibility, Value and Characteristics of an Intergenerational Friendly Telephone Visit Program During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Similar Datasets

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