Abstract
Engaging in regular volunteering has been proposed as a strategy to facilitate healthy and productive ageing. Evidence suggests that engaging in volunteering activities can provide beneficial social, physical, and cognitive outcomes for older people including, but not limited to, improvement in quality of life, reduced depression, higher levels of self-rated health, lower mortality rates, and improved psychological well-being. Given these benefits, engagement in volunteering activities should be encouraged in seniors. The present study, part of a broader randomized control trial examining the effects of volunteering on the health and well-being of Australian seniors, examined the perceived barriers to and facilitators of involvement in volunteering in over 200 participants aged 60 years and older. NVivo11 was used to code and content analyze the interview transcriptions. Several intrapersonal and environmental barriers were reported including being time poor, lack of mobility, lack of available transport, health issues, lack of relevant information and knowledge about where to seek volunteer work, and organizational “red tape” and inflexibility. Interviewees believed that increasing flexibility of positions, making the commitment easier to manage within existing lifestyles, making resources pertaining to possible volunteering positions readily accessible, and finding positions of interest would assist in facilitating involvement in volunteer work. Results suggest that although there are several barriers that prevent seniors from engaging in volunteer work after retirement, motivation to undertake such activities can be enhanced if organizations understand the specific needs of seniors and improve the ease with which seniors can engage in this work.