Principi Andrea, Galenkamp Henrike, Papa Roberta, Socci Marco, Suanet Bianca, Schmidt Andrea, Schulmann Katharine, Golinowska Stella, Sowa Agnieszka, Moreira Amilcar, Deeg Dorly J H
National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing (INRCA), Via S. Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, De Boelelaan, 1089 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Eur J Ageing. 2016 May 13;13(2):91-102. doi: 10.1007/s10433-016-0377-0. eCollection 2016 Jun.
It has been widely recognised that poor health is one of the main barriers to participation in volunteer activities in older age. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the participation of older people in volunteering, especially those in poor health. Based on the resource theory of volunteering, the aim of this study is to better understand the correlates of volunteering among older people with different health statuses, namely those without health problems (neither multimorbidity nor disability), those with mild health problems (multimorbidity or disability), and those with severe health problems (multimorbidity and disability). Data were drawn from the fourth wave (2011-2012, release 1.1.1) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, which includes European people aged 50 years or older. The results showed that variables linked to volunteering were generally similar regardless of health status, but some differences were nevertheless identified. For older people with mild or severe health problems, for instance, depressive symptoms were negatively associated with their involvement in volunteer activities. We found a positive association of being widowed (rather than married) with volunteering in older people with particularly poor health, whereas high income was associated with volunteering in the case of mild health problems only. These results demonstrate that variables associated with volunteer participation partially differ between older people depending on their health status. These differences should be considered by policy makers in their attempts to promote volunteering in older people, as a means of preventing their social exclusion.
人们普遍认识到，健康状况不佳是老年人参与志愿活动的主要障碍之一。因此，研究老年人，尤其是健康状况不佳的老年人参与志愿服务的情况至关重要。基于志愿活动的资源理论，本研究旨在更好地了解不同健康状况的老年人参与志愿活动的相关因素，即那些没有健康问题（既无多种疾病并存也无残疾）、有轻度健康问题（多种疾病并存或残疾）以及有严重健康问题（多种疾病并存且残疾）的老年人。数据取自欧洲健康、老龄化与退休调查的第四轮（2011 - 2012年，版本1.1.1），该调查涵盖50岁及以上的欧洲人。结果表明，无论健康状况如何，与志愿活动相关的变量总体上相似，但仍存在一些差异。例如，对于有轻度或严重健康问题的老年人，抑郁症状与他们参与志愿活动呈负相关。我们发现，在健康状况特别差的老年人中，丧偶（而非已婚）与参与志愿活动呈正相关，而高收入仅在轻度健康问题的情况下与参与志愿活动相关。这些结果表明，与志愿活动参与相关的变量在不同健康状况的老年人中部分存在差异。政策制定者在试图促进老年人参与志愿活动以防止他们被社会排斥时，应考虑这些差异。
