Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers.

Jenkinson CE, Dickens AP, Jones K, Thompson-Coon J, Taylor RS, Rogers M, Bambra CL, Lang I, Richards SH

BMC public health · August 23, 2013

Background: Volunteering has been advocated as a way to engage people in their local communities and improve social capital, with the potential for public health benefits. Methods: Experimental and cohort studies comparing the physical and mental health outcomes and mortality of a volunteering group to a non-volunteering group were identified from twelve electronic databases. Results: Forty papers were selected: five randomised controlled trials (RCTs, seven papers); four non-RCTs; and 17 cohort studies (29 papers). Cohort studies showed volunteering had favourable effects on depression, life satisfaction, wellbeing but not on physical health. These findings were not confirmed by experimental studies. Meta-analysis of five cohort studies found volunteers to be at lower risk of mortality (risk ratio: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.90). Conclusion: Observational evidence suggested that volunteering may benefit mental health and survival although the causal mechanisms remain unclear.

PMID: 23968220 · DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-773