Disrupting Othering by Fostering Light-Bulb Moments in Immersive Practical Experiences

Fully immersive experiences (i.e., practica, internships, clinicals) with older adults are one successful strategy to reduce ageist beliefs among students, as long as the experiences are high quality and students are given an opportunity to reflect on their observations, feelings, and application of classroom knowledge. Representing a more intensive level of engagement than single-session interviews or multisession intergenerational activities, such experiences are not without challenges. Instructors are not present on-site continually (or at all) to observe what the student is seeing or doing, therefore providing limited opportunity to recognize and reframe situations that may reinforce the “othering” of older adults. Through creating carefully curated reflection prompts and assessment strategies (such as eportfolios), this presenter will discuss how instructors can ensure students completing practica, internships, and clinicals recognize the breadth and diversity of aging experiences, engage ethically and appropriately with older adults in non-ageist ways, and avoid reinforcing “othering” and ageism.

Programa disfruta de la experiencia, voluntariado de mayores y envejecimiento activo en el medio rural -Andorra (Teruel)

Se describe un programa de envejecimiento activo local que emplea actividades de tiempo libre para lograr sus objetivos. Aprovecha las sinergias entre varias entidades. Las técnicas empleadas parten de la idea de dar valor a la experiencia personal de los voluntarios. Se reconoce inspiración en técnicas participativas pero es un equipo técnico quien diseña y coordina las actividades. Se proporciona a la persona mayor participante un rol activo puesto que se considera clave para el logro de un ocio terapéutico. Gran parte de las actividades son intergeneracionales. Se considera que este tipo de actividades tienen gran potencial para activar a voluntarios mayores.A local program of Active Aging is described. For the aim achievement, leisure time activities are organized. This experience takes advantage of the synergies among several institutions. The used techniques have been designed from the eldest personal experiences. It is recognized inspiration in participative techniques but it is the professional team who lead and coordinate the activities. The role provided to the volunteers is definitively active because it is considered the key point to achieve a therapeutic leisure. The most of the arranged activities are intergenerational. Intergenerational activities are considered as very suitable for eldest activation.

Attitudes of elderly persons and professionals towards intergenerational exchanges

Objective: to describe and compare the responses of elderly persons and professionals involved in permanent education programs in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, using the Intergenerational Exchanges Attitude Scale (IEAS), considering the variables living with children, for the elderly persons, and work with intergenerational groups or only with the elderly, for the professionals. Method: The convenience sample consisted of 148 elderly persons and 52 professionals. The participants responded to the IEAS and a questionnaire to delineate their profile in terms of age, gender and educational level. Comparative analysis, using the Mann-Whitney test, weighted each factor of the IEAS and the averages by items and by factors. Results: Compared to the professionals, the elderly had more negative perceptions of the attitudes of children towards the elderly (p<0.001) and more positive perceptions of the attitudes of the elderly towards children (p<0.001). Elderly persons who did not live with children had more negative perceptions of the interaction between children and the elderly than those who lived with children (p=0.003). Professionals working with intergenerational groups had more positive perceptions of the interaction between children and the elderly than professionals who worked only with older age groups (p=0.015). Conclusion: Intergenerational activities can be an important mediator of attitudes regarding the interaction between children and the elderly, as well as a form of training and professional renewal for those who work or intend to work in intergenerational activities.

INFLUENCIA DE LAS ACTIVIDADES INTERGENERACIONALES UNIVERSITARIAS EN LA CALIDAD DE VIDA DE JÓVENES Y MAYORES

THE IMPACT OF UNIVERSITY INTERGENERATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF YOUNG AND OLD PEOPLE.This paper, building on the challenges and opportunities that aging means in advanced societies, qualitatively and quantitatively studies the impact of intergenerational activities on two direct groups of interest – old and young people-. We analyze, with a confidence degree of 95% and an error margin of de +/- 5%, an experiment with 110 people including regular young university students and older life-long university students.Keywords: Active aging, intergenerational solidarity, intergenerational activities, life-long university training.Resumen:El presente trabajo, teniendo como telón de fondo los retos y oportunidades que el envejecimiento está induciendo en las sociedades más avanzadas, aborda cualitativa y cuantitativamente el grado de influencia que las actividades intergeneracionales tiene en los dos grupos de interés más directos - personas mayores y jóvenes-. Se analiza el proceso de intervención y los resultados obtenidos, con un nivel de confianza del 95% y un margen de error de +/- 5%, de la experiencia llevada a cabo con 110 personas extraídas entre jóvenes universitarios y estudiantes de los programas universitarios para mayores.Palabras Clave: Envejecimiento activo, solidaridad intergeneracional, actividades intergeneracionales, formación universitaria para mayores

Semantic and cultural equivalence of the Intergenerational Exchanges Attitude Scale (IEAS)

Introduction: Understanding the multidimensionality of attitudes originating from exchanges between different generations is fundamental for the establishment of intergenerational cooperation and the reduction of stereotypes and prejudices. Objective: To obtain the semantic and cultural equivalence of the Intergenerational Exchanges Attitude Scale (IEAS). Method: Two translators translated the scale from English into Portuguese. A third translator synthesized these two translations. The synthesized version was back-translated into English. From the observations of the initial and back translations, a semantic version of the scale was consolidated, which was applied to 32 professionals who developed intergenerational activities (elderly/children) and activities directed at elderly persons only. Following application, a version of the scale that was culturally adapted for the Portuguese language was obtained. Results: The scale was alterered due to cultural refinement, with differences in the following items: 4) around and near; 6) overprotective and highly protective; 8) be around and to want to get close to; 11) earn and obtain; 13) have warm relationships and to relate affectionately; 17) affection and fondness; 18) form a good team and are good companions; 20) feel sick and get irritated. The responses used are evaluative statements of positive or negative attitudes about the exchanges that take place between children and the elderly, based on a Likert scale of just five points. Conclusion: The Intergenerational Exchanges Attitude Scale (IEAS) has been adapted and validated for the Brazilian population and is known as the "Escala de Atitudes em relação a Trocas Intergeracionais" (Scale of Attitudes in Relation to Intergenerational Exchanges) (EATI). It can be a useful tool for programs featuring activities involving children and the elderly, as well as for professionals working and developing strategies in this field.