INCLUSIVE (Australia)

INtergenerational praCtice as a noveL commUnity-embedded Solution for older people experIencing cognitiVe dEcline (INCLUSIVE)

The community-based INCLUSIVE trial brings together older adults with cognitive impairment and preschool children. The trial, which has been designed together with a community and stakeholder team, will establish evidence for community-based multidomain intergenerational practice in those with cognitive impairment.

Latest page update: 4 September, 2025

Aim of the project

The aim of this study is to see whether intergenerational programs can improve health and well-being for older adults with cognitive impairment and developmental skills for young children.

To determine the effectiveness of a community-based multidomain intergenerational practice program in:

• Improving quality of life
• Improving older adult cognition, well-being, mood, social engagement and reducing healthcare resources
• Improving preschool age child developmental skills, such as oral language, communication, and empathy skills

Location

Local setting

This is a randomized controlled trial bringing community-dwelling older adults with cognitive impairment and preschool children together in preschools to participate in intergenerational activities.

The community-based INCLUSIVE trial has been co-conceived and co-designed with a community and stakeholder team and will establish the first robust evidence for community-based multidomain intergenerational practice in those with cognitive impairment.

Organizations involved

The George Institute for Global Health, Australia, and the University of New South Wales, Australia

Principal Investigator (PI)

Dr. Ruth Peters, The George Institute for Global Health

Research team

The George Institute for Global Health:
Dr Mei Ling (Mae) Lim
Dr. Amy Sparks
Nicole Ee
April Mallon
Sarah Kedwell

Duration of the intervention

Project start date

Project end date

Current stage of the project

In start-up

Number of study participants

Target population

Community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years or more with cognitive impairment,  and preschool children aged 4-5 years

Primary outcome

• Efficacy: Change in quality of life
• Implementation: assessed using the RE-AIM framework

Secondary outcomes

In adults:

• Individual cognitive domains
• Mobility, balance and strength measures
• Mood
• Social engagement
• Loneliness
• Concerns about falling and Falls health literacy
• Dementia risk score
• Health service use

In children:

• School readiness
• Expressive language skills
• Prosocial behaviour

Intervention

The intervention consists of  15 weeks of intergenerational sessions with one 1.5-hour session a week with 8 older adults and 8 preschool children at each participating preschool.

The sessions are based within the Australian Government Early Years Learning Framework and allow for adaptation to child and adult interests.

Domains:

• Physical activity
• Cognitive training
• Social engagement

The intergenerational sessions allow the combining of multiple domains at the same time and are designed to be enjoyable.

Results

Results have not yet been published.

Acknowledgements

Funding by the Australian Medical Research Futures Fund