Research candidate

Jo-anne Walker

Research topic

Improving the wellbeing of older war widows through intergenerational interaction

My project is being conducted as a joint partnership between the Legacy Club of Brisbane and the Australian Catholic University. The project investigates the following research question: Can the wellbeing of older war widows be improved through interactions with young volunteers? Legacy is a volunteer-based organisation providing support and social connection for widows, and with the aim of enhancing widows’ quality of life. This project’s aim is to test whether intergenerational interaction improves the wellbeing of older war widows by developing, piloting, and evaluating an intergenerational program.

Intergenerational programs involve the development of purposeful social activities that bring members of different age groups together. Good intergenerational programs do not simply involve participants of different age groups, but these projects are beneficial for all participants. This intergenerational program will involve a sample of older Legacy war widows and young adult volunteers. The older widows, beneficiaries of Legacy’s Older Widow Program, will be recruited with the help of Legacy staff. The young adult volunteers will be recruited through the Australian Catholic University (ACU) Community Engagement Program.

Principal supervisor: Dr Jonathan Smith
Co-supervisor: Dr Jacqueline Laughland-Booÿ