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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Strategies to optimize aged care volunteer recruitment and retention
— a systematic review | | Author(s) | Marta Woolford, Cathering Joyce, Meg Polacsek |
| Journal title | Journal of Gerontological Social Work, vol 65, no 1, January 2022 |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis, January 2022 |
| Pages | pp 45-62 |
| Full text* | https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2021.1923605 |
| Annotation | Population ageing and resource constraints in aged care indicate an ever increasing need for volunteers in this growing sector. Volunteers in aged care have different expectations and experiences as they typically form longer and closer relationships with residents, and perform important social support functions that may otherwise not be delivered. Tailored strategies to recruit and retain these volunteers are needed. The aims of this review were to identify the motivations and expectations of aged care volunteers, and to examine strategies that foster their recruitment, retention and role satisfaction. A systematic review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase and Cochrane Library was conducted. Selection criteria included qualitative and quantitative studies published in English, with no date restrictions. Volunteering roles were restricted to residential aged care services. The 18 studies eligible for review presented consistently strong themes across volunteer motivation, recruitment/retention, and satisfaction/involvement. Implications for policy and practice relate to the importance of setting clear role expectations, matching volunteers' skills with roles, ongoing training and support, and the need for operational frameworks that support volunteers with administrative processes, communication and complaint resolution. Improved volunteer management that enables the consistent provision of social support in this setting stands to improve residents' quality of life. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-220610285 A |
| Classmark | KW: QV: WK6: WL5: WJ7: 64A |
| *Online access to the full text may require a payment |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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information about this article, and many others, can be found on the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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