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Intergenerational Interventions to Promote Health and Reduce Risk for Chronic Disease
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Topic Description
Post Date: July 28, 2026
Expiration Date: July 28, 2028
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.
Intergenerational interventions refer to interventions involving or impacting multiple generations, whether defined by age (e.g., children, older adults) or birth cohort (e.g., Baby Boomers, Gen Z). A defining characteristic of these interventions is that the interaction between generations is an explicit mechanism of change.
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. These hypothesized mechanisms should be explicitly measured. Research designs should account for the expected correlation in outcomes among members of the same cluster (e.g., family, nursing home, neighborhood).
Participating ICOs
For this topic, ODP is interested in multi-level intergenerational interventions, with a particular interest in multi-site or cluster randomized clinical trials.
Valerie Robinson
[email protected]
Erin Quinlan
[email protected]
NCI seeks projects that develop, adapt, and/or evaluate theory-based intergenerational interventions for cancer preventive behaviors, including but not limited to energy balance (diet, exercise, sedentariness), tobacco use, alcohol use, sun safety, sleep health, HPV vaccination, screening, and genetic testing. Studies that use intervention testing to examine mechanisms of cancer preventive behavior in intergenerational contexts (e.g., family processes, culture, social support or influence, dyadic coping) and technology-enhanced interventions (e.g., mHealth, AI) are encouraged.
Example topics include:
- Cancer prevention interventions for parents and children or other intergenerational family groups
- Interventions promoting healthier behavior among parent or adult child caregivers (or other family members) in families affected by cancer
- Interventions to reduce cancer recurrence risk among survivors and that involve their parents, children, and/ or other intergenerational family members
Rebecca Ferrer, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Intergenerational family-based interventions for uptake and adherence to dietary recommendations and effects on health outcomes related to heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) conditions
- Digital tools and wearables to test intergenerational interventions and track health indicators of HLBS conditions in families
- Leverage family cohorts to develop, test, and implement interventions addressing shared HLBS risk factors
- Evaluate how Life’s Essential 8 composites influence HLBS health in families
- Identify factors affecting HLBS conditions and develop strategies to break cycles
- Investigate molecular mechanisms such as gene-environment interactions, epigenetics, immune responses, and dysbiosis during pregnancy to inform interventions to improve intergenerational HLBS health
- Test implementation strategies for integrating effective intergenerational interventions for HLBS conditions
NHLBI Highlighted Topics
[email protected]
NIAAA is interested in research on intergenerational interventions to prevent or reduce alcohol misuse, alcohol use disorders, and related health consequences. Alcohol use patterns, parenting behaviors, and alcohol-related risks can be transmitted across generations via biological and behavioral pathways, including prenatal exposure, early-life experience, and family or community contexts. NIAAA encourages studies that develop and evaluate interventions that disrupt risk pathways and build resilience. Priority areas include leveraging intergenerational relationships, improving parenting in families affected by alcohol misuse or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders , integrating interventions into health services, and boosting engagement in prevention, treatment, and recovery. Research in underserved, high-risk settings is encouraged, along with using technology and data-driven tools, including AI, to enhance personalization, risk identification, scalability, and continuity of care.
Tatiana Balachova, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Miya Whitaker, Psy.D.
[email protected]
NIDA is interested in epidemiologic, prevention, and services research on intergenerational substance use risk and protective factors and interventions to address them. Priority is given to studies targeting familial risk in child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health settings. Research is encouraged to inform and test intergenerational prevention and treatment approaches that reduce substance use and related harms among caregivers and youth, support long-term recovery, improve family health outcomes, and increase access to care. Examples include:
- identifying developmental windows and system transition points for effective intervention
- evaluating bidirectional caregiver–youth dynamics using rigorous designs
- testing family-centered models that pair caregiver treatment or recovery supports with youth prevention
- evaluating cross-system screening, referral, and care-coordination models to improve access, uptake, retention, and scalability of family-centered services
Sarah Vidal
[email protected]
NIDCR is interested in research that facilitate and/or leverage intergenerational activities or interactions to promote oral health in populations defined by age and elevated risk for dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOC) diseases. Examples include but are not limited to:
- Test strategies to enhance the uptake of technology-based DOC disease prevention
- Examine the influence of built environment or contextual factors on optimal intergenerational exchange of knowledge, behaviors, and/or social support to promote healthy eating for optimal DOC health
- Compare community-based strategies to enhance the quality or meaningfulness of intergenerational connectedness that promotes evidence-based health information related to DOC disease prevention
- Understand the mechanisms and impacts of intergenerational intervention on DOC health of children, youth, seniors, and/or adults of reproductive age
Hiroko Iida, DDS, MPH
[email protected]
Margaret Grisius, DDS
[email protected]
Jill Mattia, PhD
[email protected]
NIMH is interested in research on the development, testing, and implementation of intergenerational interventions focused on mental health, neurocognitive function, and the prevention of HIV. Areas of interest include:
- Cross-population and cross-setting comparative prevention strategies to address issues such as social isolation, loneliness, and suicide, emphasizing reciprocal learnings for US public health.
- Generating generalizable evidence to inform accessible, scalable strategies acknowledging unique features of populations in real-world settings.
- Contextually relevant interventions across family, community, and chronic disease care settings.
- Supporting cognitive function or mental health in people living with HIV.
- Facilitating responsive caregiving in people living with HIV.
- Mother-infant dyads during the perinatal period, including studies addressing perinatal depression and/or to supporting infant feeding practice in women living with HIV.
Anaïs F. Stenson, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Teri Senn, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Mesfin Bekalu, Ph.D
[email protected]
NIMHD is interested in intergenerational interventions that improve physical and mental health outcomes. Projects that include multidisciplinary collaborations; academic-community partnerships; and validated behavioral, clinical, or biomedical outcomes are strongly encouraged.
Priority areas include interventions designed:
- To prevent the development of or to facilitate evidence-based treatment for chronic physical conditions, particularly conditions across generations
- To prevent the development of or to facilitate evidence-based treatment for mental health conditions and/or substance use disorders, particularly in the setting of ongoing hardships
- To facilitate the care of children and adults with complex medical needs and their effect on shared decision-making, continuity of care, reduction or prevention of complications, and family engagement
- To be implemented in community settings and co-designed with community partners
NIMHD Division of Clinical and Health Services Research
[email protected]
NINR is interested in research on intergenerational interventions to prevent development or progression of chronic disease. Interventions informed by and developed with communities are strongly encouraged.
Some specific areas of interest include:
- Interventions that consider and address conditions of daily life (the conditions in which people are born, grow, learn, work, play, live, and age).
- Interventions that bring together multiple generations in community settings and sectors such as schools, faith-based organizations, and recreational centers.
- Interventions that leverage advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in populations experiencing disparities.
Julia Seay, Ph.D.
[email protected]
OAR encourages interdisciplinary research to develop and evaluate intergenerational interventions that strengthen HIV prevention, treatment, and health outcomes across the lifespan, particularly among populations disproportionately affected by HIV. Where appropriate, projects may consider assessing implementation outcomes, such as feasibility, acceptability, adoption, fidelity, and sustainability, to inform effective delivery and long-term impact in real-world settings.
Geetanjali Bansal, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Melissa Herrera, MPH
[email protected]
OBSSR is interested in research to develop, adapt, and/or evaluate behavioral and social preventive interventions that involve individuals, groups, or family members from two or more generations.
ONR is interested in intergenerational interventions focused on the role of nutrition in promoting health and reducing the risk for chronic disease.
Nicholas Jury, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Sheila Caldwell, PhD
[email protected]
Christopher Barnhart, PhD
[email protected]
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