Campbell Systematic Reviews · 12 authors, 10 centres
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A systematic review of 14 randomised controlled trials from six countries found small positive trends in self-esteem and depression among older people participating in intergenerational interventions, but the evidence was insufficient to draw confident conclusions due to small study sizes and methodological weaknesses.
This Campbell Collaboration systematic review synthesised 14 randomised controlled trials from six countries evaluating intergenerational interventions for older people. Meta-analyses were possible for two primary outcomes: self-esteem (effect size 0.33, 95% CI: -0.35 to 1.01) and depression (effect size 0.19, 95% CI: -0.23 to 0.60), both showing small positive trends favouring intergenerational interventions but with wide confidence intervals crossing the null. Individual study results suggested reductions in stress and agitation but were based on single small studies. There were no data on social isolation, spiritual health, or sense of community. The review identified important limitations including small sample sizes, methodological weaknesses in included trials, lack of consistent outcome measures across studies, absence of long-term follow-up studies, and no data on equity.
