A Critical Analysis of the WHO Intergenerational Toolkit: Some Suggestions to Strengthen Activity Selection, Implementation, and Evaluation

The sustainability of intergenerational programming is increasingly under scrutiny, prompting the development of several guiding frameworks, most notably the World Health Organization’s Intergenerational Toolkit (WHO Toolkit). This article critically analyzes the WHO Toolkit to identify opportunities for improvement. Using a multi-phased approach, this study: (1) conducted a scoping review of the person-centered approach as a well-researched relational theory to identify effective relational qualities; (2) performed a secondary data analysis of intergenerational interactions to construct relatable case vignettes; (3) developed the Relational Pattern Analysis (RPA) framework to map the configurations of these constructs; and (4) assessed the WHO Toolkit’s theoretical foundation, activity selection, implementation, and evaluation of outcomes. The findings of this article recommend incorporating an interactional approach alongside contact theory to guide activity selection, adopting a relational focus when implementing activities, and employing observable evaluation indicators to foster intergenerational closeness, consensus, and cohesion.