Department of Geography, College of Science, University of Canterbury - Te Whare Wananga O Waitaha, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Centre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research, School of Physiotherapy, Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Health Soc Care Community. 2021 Nov;29(6):1971-1979. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13340. Epub 2021 Jun 5.
Volunteering is a way for people to develop meaningful relationships within a social group and can lead to the building of social capital, from which both individuals and the wider group can benefit in the form of enhanced well-being. This study aimed to explore and describe the impact of volunteering on the volunteer coordinators and volunteers themselves in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch, New Zealand, an area particularly impacted by the devastating earthquakes in the period 2010/2011. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with volunteer coordinators and volunteers (n = 35; 16 men, 19 women) from November 2018 to mid-January 2019. Thematic analysis of data highlighted a key theme of Creating and strengthening valued community connections, with subthemes of Personal growth, Community connections and Role of coordination. The key theme illustrated how formal volunteering created effort and opportunities towards the strengthening of personal and community connectedness. Our study demonstrates the importance of social connection for both individual and community well-being, emphasises the important role of "champions" in facilitating the building of bridging and bonding relationships between individuals and communities, and suggests a role for healthcare professionals to prescribe volunteering as a way to improve individual health and well-being outcomes.
志愿服务是人们在社会群体中建立有意义关系的一种方式，可以促进社会资本的建立，个人和更广泛的群体都可以从中受益，提高幸福感。本研究旨在探索和描述 2010/2011 年新西兰克赖斯特彻奇市东郊遭受破坏性地震影响的地区，志愿服务对志愿者协调员和志愿者自身的影响。研究数据通过 2018 年 11 月至 2019 年 1 月中旬对志愿者协调员和志愿者（n=35；男性 16 人，女性 19 人）进行半结构化访谈收集。数据分析突出了一个关键主题，即“建立和加强有价值的社区联系”，其下有“个人成长”、“社区联系”和“协调作用”三个子主题。这个关键主题表明，正式的志愿服务为加强个人和社区的联系创造了努力和机会。我们的研究表明，社会联系对个人和社区的幸福感都很重要，强调了“倡导者”在促进个人和社区之间建立联系和联系的桥梁的重要作用，并暗示医疗保健专业人员可以将志愿服务作为一种改善个人健康和幸福感的方法。
