Intergenerational geriatric remotivation: Elders' perspectives

The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore and describe institutionalized elders' responses to an intergenerational geriatric remotivation program. Middle-school aged children became "pals" to the elders in a year long program of twice-weekly sessions. The expectation was that the elders' social isolation would be decreased. Data collection was by participant observation and interviews of the elders. Additional interviews of staff, family member's and the children contributed contextual relevance. The grounded theory method of data analysis revealed "Reconnecting" to be a basic social psychological process that explains much of the variation in the data. Reconnecting has several phases - presencing, attending, evaluating, attaching. Minimal conditions necessary for reconnecting to occur and intervening variables are discussed. The research highlights the importance of evaluating the patients' perspectives about programs designed for their benefit. The complexity of an intergenerational program is revealed.