Exploration of Perceived Psychosocial Benefits of Senior Companion Program Participation Among Urban-Dwelling, Low-Income Older Adult Women Volunteers

dc.contributor.authorHood, Sula
dc.contributor.authorLu, Yvonne Yueh-Feng
dc.contributor.authorJenkins, Kristen
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Ellen R.
dc.contributor.authorBeaven, Joyce
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Steve A.
dc.contributor.authorHendrie, Hugh C.
dc.contributor.authorAustrom, Mary Guerriero
dc.contributor.departmentSocial and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Healthen_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-24T12:43:44Z
dc.date.available2019-06-24T12:43:44Z
dc.date.issued2018-07-12
dc.description.abstractBackground: 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. Purpose: 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. Design and Methods: 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. Results: 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. Discussion and Implications: 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.en_US
dc.eprint.versionFinal published versionen_US
dc.identifier.citationHood, S., Lu, Y. Y., Jenkins, K., Brown, E. R., Beaven, J., Brown, S. A., … Austrom, M. G. (2018). Exploration of Perceived Psychosocial Benefits of Senior Companion Program Participation Among Urban-Dwelling, Low-Income Older Adult Women Volunteers. Innovation in aging, 2(2), igy018. doi:10.1093/geroni/igy018en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1805/19651
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherOxford University Pressen_US
dc.relation.isversionof10.1093/geroni/igy018en_US
dc.relation.journalInnovation in agingen_US
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/*
dc.sourcePMCen_US
dc.subjectCivic Engagementen_US
dc.subjectLow-Incomeen_US
dc.subjectMinority Populationen_US
dc.subjectPsychosocial Supporten_US
dc.subjectQualitative Analysisen_US
dc.subjectSenior Companion Programen_US
dc.subjectVolunteerismen_US
dc.titleExploration of Perceived Psychosocial Benefits of Senior Companion Program Participation Among Urban-Dwelling, Low-Income Older Adult Women Volunteersen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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