What Can Be Achieved by Mutual-understanding among Community-dwelling Elderly People and Physical Therapy Students?

Abstract

Abstract.[Purpose] The purpose was to clarify how community-based classes affected students, community staff, and elderly people.[Methods] Students collaborated in exercise classes for community-dwelling elderly people (participants) with teachers and community staff. After classes, questionnaires were completed by 60 participants, 9 community staff, and 24 students. Questionnaires consisted of a five-grade evaluation, a visual analogue scale (VAS), and impressions described in freely written sentences. All sentences written by participants and students were analyzed by text-mining method and cluster analysis.[Results] The results showed that the participants and community staff rated the classes as either 5 (very good) or 4 (good) in the five-grade evaluation. The results of VAS evaluation showed that the students rated the program and the elderly people as 86.5 ± 13.3 and 91.6 ± 9.9, respectively. Extracted words from participants' impressions were categorized into five clusters: "youth / young people," "exercise," "fun," and "good" formed each independent cluster. Extracted words from students' impressions were categorized into four clusters that implied positive feelings. [Conclusion] Interchange between elderly people and students achieved positive effects for both.

A Review of participant, agency, and community outcomes of non-familial intergenerational programs

“…The community capacity code was given to articles that measured how much intergenerational programs impacted a community's ability to provide services or raise funds to support individuals in the community. A total of 14 (6.45%) articles cited community outcomes focused on capacity building, including reports on overall capacity and community development (Gallagher & Fitzpatrick, 2018; Weinronk et al, 2017), revenue (Hwang et al, 2014), public safety (Yasunaga et al, 2016), and education (e.g., Doiron & Lees, 2009; Nakagawa & Asakawa, 2012). Specifically, intergenerational programs can increase understanding across the community, which can enhance a community's social capital, leading to greater levels of safety felt within the community (Yasunaga et al, 2016).…”

“…Articles reporting how intergenerational programs affect the number and quality of resources available to the wider community were coded in this category. Eight articles (3.69%) reported that intergenerational programs impacted local community resources including, information systems (Foret et al, 1998; Nakagawa & Asakawa, 2012), transportation and errand assistance (Blake, 1986; Pynoos et al, 1984), mentorship (e.g., Doiron & Lees, 2009; Henkin & Rodriguez, 2018), and home-based health services (Pynoos et al, 1984). The connections built within an intergenerational program can open additional channels of communication between individuals and organizations across a community, leading to improved information dissemination and systems that serve as an additional resource to the rest of the community (Foret et al, 1998; Nakagawa & Asakawa, 2012).…”