Evaluating the sustainability of a three-year community-based intergenerational project in Hong Kong: a longitudinal mixed methods study from the perspective of service providers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Intergenerational programmes improve older adults' cognitive, emotional, social, and health outcomes. However, their long-term sustainability remains unclear, which is important for ongoing effectiveness. This study aimed to evaluate the sustainability of a three-year community-based intergenerational project and the underlying facilitators and barriers from service providers' perspectives. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A longitudinal, mixed-methods approach was applied. The Program Sustainability Assessment Tool (PSAT), consisting of eight domains, was used to assess the project's sustainability capacity, which is the ability of a programme to maintain its operations, benefits and impacts over time. Barriers and facilitators in PSAT domains were determined by the mean value of each domain. Semi-structured interviews were further administered to identify implementation determinants. A total of 28 managerial and front-line staff responsible for the programme were recruited from three local non-profit organisations. They completed baseline and three rounds PSAT survey and three focus-group interviews across the three-year project. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were conducted for quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. RESULTS: The total sustainability scores during the three-year implementation of the programme were 5.16 ± 0.65 in baseline, 5.66 ± 0.54 in Year 1, 5.62 ± 0.67 in Year 2, and 5.18 ± 0.48 in Year 3. Domains as consistent facilitators across the three-year implementation were organisational capacity and programme evaluation, while domains as consistent barriers were partnerships and strategic planning. Environmental support, funding stability, programme adaptation, and communications were found as mixed impacts during three years of implementation. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Service providers perceived the overall sustainability of the community-based intergenerational programme as acceptable. Fluctuations in sustainability reflected the life cycle of the programme. Factors affecting the long-term implementation are common practical issues for community-based programme and need to be addressed, especially in the aspects of funding stability, partnerships, and strategic planning, as well as those specific to intergenerational relationship and communication.