A RE-AIM Analysis of an Intergenerational Dementia Education Program

Abstract

Objectives: Children often have a lack of dementia understanding and poor attitudes toward people with dementia. Intergenerational programs are increasingly common, but the effects on knowledge and attitudes related to dementia are mixed, especially in the long-term (6 months). Using a RE-AIM framework, we quantitatively evaluated the effects of an educational dementia program (with and without an intergenerational program) on dementia attitudes in the short and long-term, and qualitatively, which elements of the program facilitated this change. Methods: Eighty-one children (9.63 ± 0.52 years, 35 males) from three classes participated in an 8-week dementia education program and 52 also interacted with older adults through an intergenerational experience. Program reach was measured as the percentage of children who participated in the study. The Kids Insight into Dementia Survey (KIDS) was implemented to measure dementia knowledge and attitudes: efficacy and maintenance. Qualitative interviews with all participant groups informed both adoption and implementation. Cost-benefit analysis was used as a secondary outcome measure for efficacy. Results: The program demonstrated strong levels of impact reaching 93% of school children across the three included classes. Efficacy was demonstrated by a positive change in children's dementia knowledge and attitudes immediately post program, which remained increased (as compared to baseline) 6- months post intervention; there were no differences between groups (those who interacted with older adults and those who did not). Interviews identified positive changes in children's empathy and improved community awareness. Barriers to adoption included the project scope, time constraints incurred by school terms and the management of children-to-adult ratios. Conclusions: These findings provide the first evidence that school-based dementia education improves knowledge of and attitudes toward people with dementia long-term. We demonstrated programs such as this can be successful in both primary school and wider community settings, with support from school and community partners key to the success.

Intergenerational Learning and Its Impact on the Improvement of Educational Processes

“…Attitudes, well-being, and happiness: As previous studies indicated [40], intergenerational learning fostered improvements in attitudes, well-being, and social and psychological aspects. Thus, the results of this paper align with these findings, which also include additional discoveries such as the improved empathy of young individuals towards older adults [56], better dialogue skills [45], enhanced ability to work together on tasks [46], and a better understanding of each generation [43], resulting in an increased sense of well-being.…”

“…Thus, a large part of the studies are shown below [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56].…”

“…Prevention of diseases and increase in health knowledge: As indicated by Senteio [55] and Smith et al [56], the intergenerational contact promoted knowledge in terms of disease prevention, while also improving intergenerational relationships [47]. In this sense, there are many elderly individuals who require information and healthcare assistance, and intergenerational learning-based initiatives present a great opportunity to continue addressing this situation.…”

In their own words: An exploration of primary children's participation in a dementia education program

“…The positive engagement and conceptual growth revealed by the current study may signal a need for further investigations into primary-aged dementia education programs, particularly as many current programs focus on dementia education in secondary schools. 3,6,7 Other primary school-based dementia education programs have reported similar findings despite the intervention varying for example, Kids4Dementia online modules 4 ; online modules with and without an intergenerational program 5 ; and the use of hip-hop. 2 Given these positive outcomes, further research into the students' retention of knowledge and personal attitudes may be useful.…”

“…2 Research indicates that increasing children's familiarity with mental illness and health disorders is an important factor in destigmatising perceptions and increasing empathetic interactions. [3][4][5] While the literature reports on the impact of dementia education programs in secondary schools, 3,6,7 few studies have examined such interventions with primary school students. This paper reports on the findings from interviews with the students who took part in Project DARE (dementia knowledge, art, research and education).…”