A School-Based Intergenerational Engagement Program to Improve Older Adults’ Cognitive, Health and Social Outcomes: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

High quality evidence on the potential health benefits of intergenerational engagement (IE) for older adults, particularly using relatively moderate exposure, is limited. This pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the impact of a school-based IE intervention designed to engage healthy older adults in real-world activities and provide multimodal (cognitive, social, physical) engagement. Additionally, feasibility of the program was evaluated. The sample comprised 36 participants (29 females, 7 males), aged 60-80 years, who had been randomised to the intervention or a wait-list control group. Intervention participants assisted primary (elementary) school teachers in supporting children’s (4-8 yrs) reading, writing, and numeracy for 8 hours per week over six months, with data collected at baseline and 3- and 6-month follow-up sessions. The intervention was found to be generally feasible and was associated with significant improvements in: cognition (working memory, episodic memory, auditory verbal learning); daytime functioning (staying awake/alert); attitudes towards children; and sense of generative achievement (helping the younger generation). Benefits were typically observed at 3 months and maintained at 6 months. Moderate intensity participation in this school-based IE intervention therefore shows preliminary efficacy as a multimodal health promotion initiative for older adults. Minor intervention modification and full-scale assessment is now warranted.