Through the Lens of Age: A Photovoice Project Promoting Intergenerational Health and Wellbeing

Background and purpose

With more older adults and older adults living longer, individual and community needs are evolving, and often go unmet due to service and knowledge gaps reflecting negative beliefs about late life among helping professionals. Ageism can fuel intergenerational conflict, which increases rates of isolation and depression, shortens life expectancy, and magnifies hopelessness across generations. Intergenerational practice can improve connectedness among persons of all ages, with implications for health and wellbeing across age groups, and social work education and practice.

Study objectives were threefold. These included deepening understanding about ageist beliefs among participants to bridge generational divides; enhancing interest in gerontology practice among social work students to reduce service gaps affecting older adults; and promoting healthy communities across age groups. Over-arching research questions included, how do participants of different generations perceive each other; what factors contribute to reducing negative age-based beliefs; and to what extent does intergenerational experiential learning influence interest in working with older adults among social work students?

 

Methods

This study adopted a PhotoVoice design. PhotoVoice is a research and advocacy approach wherein participant-researchers use photographs and interviews to deepen understanding about a topic and promote change through advocacy.  Convenience sampling resulted in a sample of twenty-five undergraduate social work students enrolled in an elective, and 25 adults over 65. Students posted flyers in their neighborhoods to recruit participants over 65. Data collection consisted of pairs of intergenerational participant-researchers interviewing each other, and photographing each other and their environments to compare, contrast and represent perceptions of aging across generations. In a first step of data analysis, participant-researcher pairs identified themes within their visual and verbal data immediately following data collection.  Then, students compared themes across pair data during class time. Finally, students member-checked findings with older participants and prepared illustrated scientific posters for the advocacy actions. Participants of all ages shared findings in two advocacy actions, for the college and greater community. The study received IRB approval.

Findings

Findings indicate that participants deepened their understanding about age-based beliefs.  Further, students reported that participation in the project increased interest in working with older adults, and in research. Students also reported greater confidence in their student identity, and greater connection to each other and the college.  Significantly, participants of all ages reported experiencing greater empathy for members of different age groups. Lastly, participants of all age groups also reported increased hopefulness about the future. Younger participants were more hopeful about their older selves, and older participants were more hopeful about society’s future.

Implications

There are implications for social work education and practice. These include increasing research opportunities for students to enhance engagement with learning and interest in working with under-served populations, such as older adults. Further, intergenerational practice, an evidence-based approach to building individual and community capacities, should be integrated across practice curricula. Together, these stand to reduce service and knowledge gaps, and promote community and individual health and wellbeing across age groups.