Abstract
Past research suggests that senior citizens often face challenges related to deteriorating physical and mental health, and the quality of their lives may suffer as a result. Past research also suggests that volunteering can improve the health and quality of life for seniors. In the present study, 451 volunteers enrolled in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) completed surveys including questions regarding their volunteer experiences and how these experiences have affected their health and quality of life. The results suggest that volunteering through RSVP is associated with improvements in health and quality of life across a variety of dimensions. Furthermore, these improvements may be particularly greater for women, current volunteers, and older seniors. These findings may help guide interventions designed to enhance the health and well-being of senior citizens in a variety of settings.
Highlights
The population of senior citizens in the United States has grown rapidly in the last century
Respondents reported perceiving that their sense of accomplishment, life purpose, ability to make a difference in another person’s life, looking forward to each new day, pleasure gained from daily activities, sense of self-worth, physical health, psychological health, overall sense of well-being, and overall quality of life had all improved significantly since they had begun volunteering in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) program
Both men and women reported that volunteering through RSVP had led to significantly positive changes on all measured dimensions, these changes were significantly greater for women than they were for men
Summary
The population of senior citizens in the United States has grown rapidly in the last century. These researchers have argued that the sedentary lifestyle, rather than strictly the biological process of aging, may be largely responsible for an increase in health problems (CDC, 2001, 2011; Minkler, Schauffler, & Clements-Nolle, 2000; Resnick, 1998; Resnick et al, 2006; Phillips, Pruitt, & King, 1996; Yates, Djousse, Kurth, Buring, & Gaziano, 2008) This argument is further supported by a number of studies that show that physical inactivity at any age is a risk factor for the development of several types of health problems. It appears plausible that some of the physical health problems that are commonly associated with aging are not age-related problems, but are caused in part by another factor—namely physical inactivity—that is associated with both aging and physical health problems
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