Grant: Summer Program in Aging

My postdoctoral research aims to deepen our understanding of overcoming the negative effects of age-segregated societies by investigating the benefits and challenges of an Intergenerational Club. The club brings together McMaster students and older adults from the Hamilton area in monthly 2-hour sessions from September 2023 to April 2024. Our primary focus is to explore the perspectives of both older adults and students, evaluating the potential impact of the project on their social health and well-being. Our overarching goal is to investigate the impact of intergenerational programming on both older adults and university-level students, with a focus on promoting social health and well-being. Recognizing the scarcity of opportunities for such exchanges, we aim to contribute to reducing agism and enhancing relations between different generations. Building on the feedback from our pilot study, the project has been refined to address challenges such as an uneven ratio of older adults to students and a desire for more semi-structured or unstructured time. We have renamed the program to Intergenerational Club based on participant feedback. We also aim to expand on successful elements, including the content of sessions, particularly the art-making sessions, to create an environment that fosters meaningful connections across generations.