Catalyst Huddle | Opportunity to collaborate | Intergenerational interventions to promote health and reduce risk for chronic disease
October 8, 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location
722 AHSB
Address
1919 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60612
Calendar
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AHS faculty are invited to join a brainstorming session on the NIH Highlighted Topic: Intergenerational Interventions to Promote Health and Reduce Risk for Chronic Disease. The overall goal of the Catalyst Huddle is to identify common areas of interest amongst the participants to lay the groundwork for developing interdisciplinary proposals in response to the Highlighted Topic.
Background
Interaction among individuals from different generations can have beneficial health impacts for people of all ages. Older generations can impart wisdom, life skills, and cultural or historical knowledge to younger generations. Conversely, younger generations can bring energy, technological skills, and fresh perspectives to older generations. Multi-generation groups have been shown to enhance mutual learning, creativity, and decision-making quality.
Research shows that interventions involving interactions with unrelated youth and older adults improve mental health, well-being, and reduce social isolation in both age groups. Family-level interventions leverage intergenerational interactions to produce health benefits for the entire family and have been shown to improve child and parent behavioral health outcomes, increase health knowledge, and reduce caregiver stress.
Intergenerational interventions leverage both the benefits of interpersonal interventions, such as social facilitation and support, and the unique benefits of intergenerational interactions. Intergenerational components can enhance the acceptability, accessibility, and effectiveness of existing preventive interventions, such as chronic disease screening, lifestyle modification, preventive or prophylactic medications, and self-management regimens. Intergenerational interventions may be particularly beneficial for populations at greater risk for chronic disease but decreased access to preventive services.
Research Objectives
This topic encourages research to develop, adapt, and/or evaluate preventive interventions that involve individuals, groups, or family members from two or more generations. Of particular interest are interventions with populations who are at elevated risk for developing chronic disease and/or less likely to receive preventive services.
Interventions may involve one age group delivering an intervention to another, and/or mixed age groups interacting or working together to improve health. Examples of intergenerational interactions include, but are not limited, to providing social, emotional or logistical support; teaching, training, or mentoring; shared health promoting activities; and shared health-related community improvement activities.
Interventions should be guided by a conceptual model identifying the hypothesized mechanism(s) through which the intergenerational interaction impacts health outcomes.
This event is in-person only. Light refreshments will be served.
RSVP by 8/3 here or email Dr. Karen Cielo, Director of Research Development.
Date posted
Sep 15, 2026
Date updated
Sep 15, 2026