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KMID : 0379220130330010053
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Journal of Korea Gerontological Society
2013 Volume.33 No. 1 p.53 ~ p.66
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Benefits of Volunteering to Physical Health, Depression, Social Support, and Meaning in Life among Older Adults
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Kim Su-Hyun
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Abstract
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The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of volunteering on physical health, depression, social support and meaning in life among older adults. Data were collected by using structured questionnaires, before beginning of the voluntary work and again 12 months after its initialization, from older volunteers and non-volunteers. As a result of the study, older volunteers had better physical health than baseline by the end of 12 months of voluntary work, but statistical significance was not found. Significant interaction effects between time and groups were not found for the outcome variables, but older volunteers had significantly lower level of depression and higher level of social support than non-volunteers. It is the first prospective study in Korea that investigate the positive influence of volunteering on health status in older adults. To clarify the causal effect of voluntary work, it is warranted to perform additional longitudinal intervention study with control group.
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KEYWORD
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aged, voluntary workers, health, social support, depression
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