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Lu S, Chui C, Lum T, Liu T, Wong G, Chan W. Promoting Late-Life Volunteering With Timebanking: A Quasi-Experimental Mixed-Methods Study in Hong Kong. Innov Aging 2024; 8:igae056. [PMID: 39070698 PMCID: PMC11275466 DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igae056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Background and Objectives This study explores the impact of timebanking, where individuals earn time credits, nonmonetary currency, on promoting volunteerism among older adults. Research Design and Methods This study employed a quasi-experimental design with 116 timebank group (TBG) participants and 114 comparison group (CG) participants from 2021 to 2022. TBG received time credits to exchange for rewards, while CG received no time credits (i.e., volunteering as usual). The intervention of timebanking lasted for 1 year. Volunteering behaviors were tracked via an app, and intentions to volunteer were assessed at baseline (T0), after 6 months (the midpoint of the intervention, T1), and after 12 months (the endpoint of the intervention, T2). The use of rewards by TBG participants was also recorded (e.g., for personal use or sharing with others). Furthermore, focus group interviews were conducted to understand how rewards influenced participants' volunteerism. Results TBG had significantly higher weekly volunteer hours at T2 (β = 1.37, p = .021) and increased intent to volunteer at T1 (β = 0.54, p = .001) and T2 (β = 0.51, p = .001) compared with CG. Participants using rewards personally volunteered more at T2 (β = 2.09, p = .014), although sharing rewards with family and friends or donating rewards to others did not yield the same effect. The qualitative study suggested that a sense of feeling recognized generated by timebanking may encourage increased volunteering and that personal reward use enriched the volunteer experience, and individuals sharing rewards with family and friends experienced a sense of fulfillment and reinforcement of their prosociality. Discussion and Implications Timebanking effectively encourages late-life volunteering. The study provides practical implications for promoting volunteering among older people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiyu Lu
- Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Cheryl Chui
- Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Terry Lum
- Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Tianyin Liu
- Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Gloria Wong
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Wai Chan
- Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China
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Matsaganis MD, Petraki M, Karanatsiou V. Providing Health Care and Social Support during Economic Crises: Lessons Learned from "Solidarity Outpatient Clinics" in Greece during the Great Recession. JOURNAL OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 2024:221465241249697. [PMID: 38831625 DOI: 10.1177/00221465241249697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
"Solidarity outpatient clinics" (SOCs) emerged in Greece as a novel community-based health care resource during the global economic crisis that started in 2008. They have provided crucial social support to diverse vulnerable populations. Solidarity is a critical organizational principle underlying SOCs' operation. It is juxtaposed to charity to emphasize, among other things, building symmetrical relationships between providers and patients. Employing a case study approach and a multilevel, multimethod research design, we analyzed qualitative data collected through semistructured interviews (N = 20) with patients, staff, and other local stakeholders and content of monthly informational bulletins (N = 26) and weekly radio shows (N = 48) produced by a prominent SOC in Greece's capital. Findings provide insight into structural and functional dimensions of social support exchanges at SOCs and extend our understanding of different types of social support and the organizational contexts through which they are secured, particularly during financial crises.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maria Petraki
- National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
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Wu Y, Liu S, Song Y, Zhang Z, Liu Y. The influencing factors of participation in time banking volunteer service for older adults among university students in Nanjing, China. Front Public Health 2024; 11:1289512. [PMID: 38274532 PMCID: PMC10808155 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1289512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective This study aims to identify factors influencing university students' participation in time banking volunteer services for older adults and provides evidence to promote the involvement. Methods Conducted in November 2022, we utilized a convenience sampling method to recruit students from the School of Aging Service and Management at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China. Data was collected through an online questionnaire focusing on various aspects related to time banking volunteer services for older adults. Factor analysis was employed to extract variables, and logistic regression was applied to identify key determinants. Results A significant majority (82.67%) of participants expressed willingness to engage in volunteer services for older adults. Factor analysis uncovered six influential factors explaining 62.55% of the variance. Logistic regression highlighted four key determinants of students' willingness: value judgment (OR = 4.392, CI = 2.897-6.658), social support (OR = 1.262, CI = 0.938-1.975), social influence (OR = 1.777, CI = 1.598-3.799), and socioeconomic conditions (OR = 1.174, CI = 1.891-3.046). Conclusion To foster sustainability and continuous time banking among university students majoring in aging service and management, a multifaceted support involving governmental, social, and university is recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Yunlong Liu
- Department of Aging Service and Management, School of Aging Service and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
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OUP accepted manuscript. THE GERONTOLOGIST 2022; 63:628-636. [PMID: 35537375 DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnac062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
There is no theoretical framework to guide society to enhance social capital among older adults in the Decade of Healthy Aging. This article aims to advance scholarship by providing a theoretical framework for promoting social capital for healthy aging using timebanking as a case illustration. We provide an integrated theoretical framework to enhance social capital for healthy aging by incorporating 3 core elements: (a) facilitating emotional meaningfulness via social participation for older adults, (b) incorporating older adults as coproducers in community development, and (c) nurturing an inclusive and equitable society. We further demonstrate the utility of the integrated theoretical framework for gerontologists by conceptualizing timebanking as an intervention for enhancing social capital in an aging society.
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Naughton-Doe R, Cameron A, Carpenter J. Timebanking and the co-production of preventive social care with adults; what can we learn from the challenges of implementing person-to-person timebanks in England? HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY 2021; 29:1285-1295. [PMID: 32926501 DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This paper explores the potential contribution of timebanking, an innovative volunteering scheme, to the co-production of preventive social care with adults in England. Interest in volunteering in social care has increased as one proposed solution to the international crisis of a rising demand for services in juxtaposition with decreased resources. Volunteering has been particularly promoted in preventive services that prevent or delay care needs arising. Despite sustained interest in volunteering and co-production in social care, little is known about how theory translates into practice. Reporting implementation data from a Realistic Evaluation of six case studies in England, this paper explores one volunteering scheme, timebanking. The research explores how timebanks were working, what contribution they can make to adult social care, and whether they are an example of co-production. Data collected included interviews, focus groups or open question responses on surveys from 84 timebank members, and semi-structured interviews with 13 timebank staff. Each timebank was visited at least twice, and all timebank activity was analysed for a period of 12 months. Data were triangulated to improve reliability. The research found that in practice, timebanks were not working as described in theory, there were small numbers of person-to-person exchanges and some timebanks had abandoned this exchange model. Timebanks faced significant implementation challenges including managing risk and safeguarding and the associated bureaucracy, a paternalistic professional culture and the complexity of the timebank mechanism which required adequate resources. Lessons for timebanks are identified, as well as transferable lessons about co-production and volunteering in social care if such schemes are to be successful in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Naughton-Doe
- Department for Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Ailsa Cameron
- School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - John Carpenter
- School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Turcu C, Crane M, Hutchinson E, Lloyd S, Belesova K, Wilkinson P, Davies M. A multi-scalar perspective on health and urban housing: an umbrella review. BUILDINGS & CITIES 2021; 2:734-758. [PMID: 34738085 PMCID: PMC7611930 DOI: 10.5334/bc.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
With more than half the world's population living in cities, understanding how the built environment impacts human health at different urban scales is crucial. To be able to shape cities for health, an understanding is needed of planetary health impacts, which encompass the human health impacts of human-caused disruptions on the Earth's natural ecosystems. This umbrella review maps health evidence across the spatial scales of the built environment (building; neighbourhood; and wider system, including city, regional and planetary levels), with a specific focus on urban housing. Systematic reviews published in English between January 2011 and December 2020 were searched across 20 databases, with 1176 articles identified and 124 articles screened for inclusion. Findings suggests that most evidence reports on health determinants at the neighbourhood level, such as greenspace, physical and socio-economic conditions, transport infrastructure and access to local services. Physical health outcomes are also primarily reported, with an emerging interest in mental health outcomes. There is little evidence on planetary health outcomes and significant gaps in the research literature are identified. Based on these findings, three potential directions are identified for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catalina Turcu
- The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Melanie Crane
- The Charles Perkins Centre, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Emma Hutchinson
- Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
| | - Simon Lloyd
- Climate and Health Programme (CLIMA), Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Kristine Belesova
- Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
| | - Paul Wilkinson
- Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
| | - Mike Davies
- UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, London, UK
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Tang W, Wu D, Yang F, Wang C, Gong W, Gray K, Tucker JD. How kindness can be contagious in healthcare. Nat Med 2021; 27:1142-1144. [PMID: 34127853 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01401-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Weiming Tang
- School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.,University of North Carolina Project-China, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,SESH Global, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dan Wu
- SESH Global, Guangzhou, China.,Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fan Yang
- University of North Carolina Project-China, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,SESH Global, Guangzhou, China.,Institute of Population Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenfeng Gong
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Beijing, China
| | - Kurt Gray
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Joseph D Tucker
- School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. .,University of North Carolina Project-China, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. .,SESH Global, Guangzhou, China. .,Clinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
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