Volunteering Served as a Transitional Role That Enhances the Well-Being and Cognitive Health Among Older Adults With Cognitive Impairments.

OBJECTIVES

We examined whether volunteering among older adults with cognitive impairments serves as a transitional role that can enhance these older persons' well-being and cognitive health.

METHODS

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we selected older adults with cognitive impairments ( = 472) and developed linear mixed models to assess associations between volunteering and health outcomes.

RESULTS

Volunteers in our sample were mostly females, non-Hispanic whites, those with higher income, and those with a high-school diploma. Volunteering was associated with higher levels of self-rated health, and consistent participation in volunteer work was related to stronger feelings of purpose in life. Cognitive health slightly improved over time only among those who volunteered.

DISCUSSION

We demonstrate that cognitive impaired older adults' participation in the volunteer role can benefit cognitive health while strengthening their late life resilience.