Abstract
Improved health, wellbeing and quality of life are associated with older adults living well at home. Enabling older adults to remain at home requires organisations to consider different workforce models to support these initiatives. Volunteers are often used by organisations providing such services. However, given the changing nature of the volunteer industry, volunteer recruitment and retention practices must be better understood. This study sought to understand individuals’ motivations to volunteer in aged care home support. Eighteen volunteers were recruited from not-for-profit aged support organisations in Perth, Western Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and five themes were thematically interpreted: What’s Important to Me?, Learning and Growth, Somewhere to Belong, Meet Me in the Middle, and Not Just a Number. Fulfilling volunteers’ desires for interest, social connection, self-growth, recognition, and support appeared conducive to positive volunteering experiences. These findings may suggest avenues to capture and retain volunteers in aged care home support.
Highlights
As of 2017, there were approximately 3.8 million (15% of total population) Australians over the age of 65 years [1]
It is expected that the number of older Australians will continue to grow, with an estimated 8.8 million (22% of total population) older adults by 2057 [1]
In an attempt to reduce the stress on residential care facilities, the Australian government created the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) which aims to keep older adults living independently at home and in the community for longer [3]
Summary
As of 2017, there were approximately 3.8 million (15% of total population) Australians over the age of 65 years [1]. It is expected that the number of older Australians will continue to grow, with an estimated 8.8 million (22% of total population) older adults by 2057 [1]. With the growing number of older adults comes an increasing demand for quality aged care services. In an attempt to reduce the stress on residential care facilities, the Australian government created the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) which aims to keep older adults living independently at home and in the community for longer [3]. During the 2017–2018 financial year, 1,456 notfor-profit organisations providing at home support services were funded by the CHSP [4].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
