the benefits of community contributions in later life
TRANSCRIPT
The Benefits of Community Contributions in Later Life
Dr. Aideen YoungCentre for Ageing Better
@AideenYoung @Ageing_Better
February 2017
Adapted from: Nesta ̶ people helping people: the future for public services
The spectrum of voluntary activities
Community Contributions in Later Life 2
Benefits for social connections
Community Contributions in Later Life 3
Benefits for health
Increase in walking activity
Smaller reductions in walking speed
Increased overall activity level
Increased strength
Fewer depressive symptoms
Fewer functional limitations
Slower decline in self-rated health
Improved executive function
Improved memory
Increased brain activity
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Benefits for wellbeing and sense of purpose
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16-49 50-64 65-74 75+0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Formal volunteering Informal volunteering
Proportion of people making frequent contributions by age, 2014-15
From: Community Life Survey 2015
Who are the people who contribute?
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From: Cabinet Office. Community Life Survey 2015-2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-life-survey-2015-to-2016-data
Poor Fair Good Very good Excellent0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Nazroo, J. and Matthews, K. (2012) The impact of volunteering on well-being in later life,London: WRVS
Proportion of people aged 50+ involved in formal volunteering by health status, 2006-10
Health, socioeconomic status and ethnicity are much more strongly correlated to volunteering than age.
Who are the people who contribute?
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Poorest Second quintile Third quintile Fourth quintile Richest0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Who are the people who contribute?
Proportion of people aged 50+ involved in formal volunteering by wealth, 2006-10
There is evidence that informal help is not correlated with socioeconomic status (e.g. SHARE)
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Nazroo, J. and Matthews, K. (2012) The impact of volunteering on well-being in later life,London: WRVS
Structure and purpose
Social connections
Wellbeing
People with lower levels of income or
education
People with mild / moderate mental health problems
People with incipient / low level unmet
household care needs
Reciprocity and mutual support
Who are the people who benefit?
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Reasons for not volunteering, Helping Out
Reason given in Helping Out survey Age (years) 55–64 65+
Not enough spare time 87 42
Put off by bureaucracy 57 42
Don’t know how to find out about getting involved 29 26
Don’t have the right skills/experience 34 35
Wouldn’t be able to stop once involved 41 31
Worried I might end up out of pocket 18 17
Illness or disability 27 62
Feel I am too old 19 69
Low et al. (2007) Helping Out: A national survey of volunteering and charitable giving,
Base: all respondents who were not formal volunteers in the last year but would like to start to help. Don’t know/refusal responses excluded.
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1Musick, M. & Wilson, J. (2008) Volunteers: a social profile. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.2Bulanda, J. and Jendrek, P. (2016) Grandparenting roles and volunteer activity, Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences, 71 (1)3Lancee, B. and Radl, J. (2014) Volunteering over the life course, Social Forces, 93 (2)4Tang, F. (2015) Retirement Patterns and Their Relationship to Volunteering, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, pp. 1─21.5Broese Van Groenou, M. & Van Tilburg, T. (2012) Six-year follow-up on volunteering in later life: A cohort comparison in the Netherlands. European Sociological Review, 28(1), pp.1–11.
Volunteering in later life - myths
The evidence suggests that some commonly cited factors are not straightforwardly correlated to likelihood of participation:
Time1
Caring2
Retirement3
Work4
Bereavement5
“Participation breeds participation”
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Motivations for volunteering, Helping Out
Low et al. (2007) Helping Out: A national survey of volunteering and charitable giving
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Age group (years)
50-59 60-64 65+
Reason for getting involved in volunteering
Someone asked me directly to get involved 52 45
My friends or family got involved with me 33 24 26
Someone who was already involved was there to help me get started 34 36 28
The information about the things I could do was available 26 24 22
I can do it from home 17 15 14
I knew it would help me improve my skills or get qualifications 10 3 5
Someone provided transport when I needed it 9 5 5
I knew it would benefit me in my career or job prospects 7 1 3
I knew I could get my expenses paid 6 4 4
Thing that would get me involved in volunteeringⱡ All ages
If my friends or family got involved with me 18
If someone asked me directly to get involved 7
If someone who was already involved was there to help me get started 9
If I could do it from home 8
If someone could provide transport when I needed it 4
If more information about the things I could do was available 4
If I knew it would help me improve my skills or get qualifications 3
If I knew I could get my expenses paid 3
If I knew it would benefit me in my career or job prospects 3
Base: those not interested in future volunteering. Respondents could choose more than one factor
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Practical triggers for volunteering
Humphrey et al. (2011) Aspirations for later life, London. http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp.
Aideen Young, Evidence [email protected]
@AideenYoung
Centre for Ageing BetterAngel Building, Level 3
407 St John Street, London, EC1V 4AD
020 3829 0113www.ageing-better.org.uk
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