Department of Nutritional Sciences, 103 West 24th Street, Painter 444, Nutritional Sciences A2703, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
Public Health. 2017 Aug;149:113-119. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2017.04.004. Epub 2017 Jun 6.
A variety of organizations redistribute surplus food to low-income populations through food rescue nutrition. Why volunteers participate in these charitable organizations is unclear. The aim of this study is to document the participation and motivations of volunteers who are involved specifically in food rescue nutrition.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in two phases.
In phase 1, a new instrument, Motivations to Volunteer Scale, was developed and validated in 40 participants (aged ≥18 years). In phase 2, the new scale and a demographics questionnaire were administered to 300 participants who were volunteering in food pantries and churches.
The pilot study showed that Motivations to Volunteer Scale exhibited an internal consistency of Cronbach's α of 0.73 (P < 0.01), and a reliability from a test-retest of times 1 and 2 was r = 0.9 (P < 0.05); paired t-test was insignificant (P > 0.05). The scale was validated also by comparison to the Volunteer Function Inventory (r = 0.86, P < 0.05). The constructs of the newly developed Motivations to Volunteer Scale were requirement, career improvement, social life, and altruism. The mean motivation score of the 300 volunteers was 9.15 ± 0.17. Greater motivations were observed among participants who were aged >45 years, women, Hispanics, college/university graduates, physically inactive, non-smokers, and had an income ≥ $48,000.
The Motivations to Volunteer Scale is a valid tool to assess why individuals volunteer in food rescue nutrition. The extent of motivations of participants was relatively high, and the primary reason for volunteering was altruism. Health professionals should be encouraged to participate in food redistribution.
各种组织通过食品救援营养向低收入人群再分配剩余食品。志愿者为何参与这些慈善组织尚不清楚。本研究旨在记录专门参与食品救援营养的志愿者的参与情况和动机。
这项研究分为两个阶段进行了横断面研究。
在第 1 阶段，在 40 名（年龄≥18 岁）参与者中开发并验证了新的工具“志愿者动机量表”。在第 2 阶段，向在食品储藏室和教堂做志愿者的 300 名参与者发放了新量表和人口统计学问卷。
初步研究表明，志愿者动机量表的内部一致性 Cronbach's α 为 0.73（P<0.01），两次测试的可靠性 r 为 0.9（P<0.05）；配对 t 检验不显著（P>0.05）。该量表还通过与志愿者职能量表（r=0.86，P<0.05）的比较得到验证。新开发的志愿者动机量表的结构包括需求、职业发展、社会生活和利他主义。300 名志愿者的平均动机得分为 9.15±0.17。年龄>45 岁、女性、西班牙裔、大学/大学毕业、不活跃、不吸烟和收入≥48000 美元的参与者表现出更高的动机。
志愿者动机量表是评估个人参与食品救援营养的原因的有效工具。参与者的动机程度相当高，志愿服务的主要原因是利他主义。应鼓励卫生专业人员参与食品再分配。
