Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, 3137 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-3137, USA.
Medical Sciences Library, Texas A&M University, 4462 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-4462, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2020 Nov;264:113374. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113374. Epub 2020 Sep 17.
Population aging is a major societal challenge that the US and many other countries are facing. The roles of intergenerational interactions are being increasingly recognized as important factors influencing health and well-being of older adults and other generations.
This systematic review paper provides a critical assessment of the current state of knowledge about the impacts of intergenerational activities on older adults' health-related outcomes.
Literature searches were conducted in October 2019 within MEDLINE, SocIndex, APA PsycInfo, and CINAHL Complete, using a pre-developed list of relevant keywords. Identified papers were reviewed and selected based on the following eligibility criteria: (1) older adults aged 50 or over as the study population, (2) nonfamily member intergenerational interactions as independent variables, (3) older adults' health-related outcomes as dependent variables, and (4) empirical and quantitative studies performed in the US and written in English. A total of 24 out of 22,674 identified articles met these eligibility criteria.
All of the 24 studies focused on evaluating intergenerational programs and their intervention effects. No studies addressed community or environmental interventions/effects. Program-based intergenerational interactions showed positive associations with older adults' physical health, psychosocial health (e.g. reduced depression), cognitive function, social relationships, and well-being/quality of life. Moreover, engagement in intergenerational activities was linked with increased physical and social activities.
This review showed solid evidence supporting the significance of program-based interventions in promoting intergenerational activities and associated health benefits. Significant knowledge gaps are also found resulting from the lack of studies examining the roles of physical environmental interventions/factors, diverse types of intergenerational interactions, and location-driven activities. Such studies can contribute to a better understanding of the specific attributes, both program-based and place-based supports, of the community environment that can promote intergenerational interactions and healthy aging in place.
人口老龄化是美国和许多其他国家面临的重大社会挑战。代际互动的作用越来越被认为是影响老年人和其他几代人健康和幸福的重要因素。
本系统评价论文批判性地评估了代际活动对老年人健康相关结果影响的现有知识状况。
2019 年 10 月，在 MEDLINE、SocIndex、APA PsycInfo 和 CINAHL Complete 中使用预先制定的相关关键词列表进行文献检索。根据以下入选标准对确定的论文进行审查和选择：（1）研究人群为 50 岁或以上的老年人，（2）非家庭成员代际互动为自变量，（3）老年人健康相关结果为因变量，（4）在美国进行的实证和定量研究，用英语书写。在 22674 篇确定的文章中，共有 24 篇符合这些入选标准。
所有 24 项研究都集中在评估代际方案及其干预效果上。没有研究涉及社区或环境干预/影响。基于方案的代际互动与老年人的身体健康、心理社会健康（如抑郁减少）、认知功能、社会关系和幸福感/生活质量呈正相关。此外，参与代际活动与增加身体和社会活动有关。
本综述提供了确凿的证据，支持以方案为基础的干预措施在促进代际活动和相关健康益处方面的重要性。由于缺乏研究检查物理环境干预/因素、不同类型的代际互动和以地点为驱动的活动的作用，也发现了显著的知识差距。此类研究有助于更好地理解社区环境的具体属性，包括以方案为基础和以地点为基础的支持，这些属性可以促进代际互动和就地健康老龄化。
