Hood Sula, Lu Yvonne Yueh-Feng, Jenkins Kristen, Brown Ellen R, Beaven Joyce, Brown Steve A, Hendrie Hugh C, Austrom Mary Guerriero
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indianapolis.
Department of Science of Nursing Care, Indiana University School of Nursing (IUSN), Indianapolis.
Innov Aging. 2018 Jul 12;2(2):igy018. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igy018. eCollection 2018 Jun.
As the older adult population increases, it is imperative to increase older adults' opportunities for social involvement, thus maintaining their important roles and contributions to society. While there are known health-related benefits of volunteerism among older adults, a dearth of information exists on the perceived benefits of volunteerism among low-income and ethnic minority older adults.
To understand the perceived psychosocial benefits of volunteering in the Senior Companion Program and to present findings of focus groups conducted with urban-dwelling, low-income older adult women volunteers.
Inductive content analysis and the Dedoose qualitative data analysis software were used for analyzing data obtained from 59 older adult women Senior Companions who participated in nine focus groups.
Content analyses of the focus group transcripts identified four major themes: (1) Reducing social isolation; (2) Improving quality of life; (3) Finding purpose and meaning; and (4) Increasing understanding of aging. The majority of our participants (81%) were African American women, with a mean age of 70 years. Approximately 83.1% had completed high school and 62.7% lived below the poverty line.
Findings provided data rich in descriptions of positive psychosocial outcomes, finding meaning and purpose, and a better understanding of aging in urban-dwelling, low-income older women volunteers. The findings also provide support for the need for policies and programs that promote civic engagement in this population.
随着老年人口的增加，必须增加老年人社会参与的机会，从而维持他们对社会的重要作用和贡献。虽然老年人参与志愿服务对健康有益是已知的，但关于低收入和少数族裔老年人对志愿服务感知益处的信息却很匮乏。
了解参与“老年伴侣计划”的志愿者所感知到的心理社会益处，并呈现对居住在城市的低收入老年女性志愿者进行焦点小组访谈的结果。
采用归纳性内容分析法和Dedoose定性数据分析软件，对来自59名参与9个焦点小组的老年女性“老年伴侣”所获得的数据进行分析。
焦点小组访谈记录的内容分析确定了四个主要主题：（1）减少社会孤立；（2）提高生活质量；（3）找到人生目标和意义；（4）增进对衰老的理解。我们的大多数参与者（81%）是非洲裔美国女性，平均年龄为70岁。约83.1%的人完成了高中学业，62.7%的人生活在贫困线以下。
研究结果提供了丰富的数据，描述了积极的心理社会结果、找到意义和目标以及居住在城市的低收入老年女性志愿者对衰老有更好的理解。这些发现也为制定促进该人群公民参与的政策和项目的必要性提供了支持。
