ArticleCanadian geriatrics journal : CGJ2021
Volunteer Impact on Health-Related Outcomes for Seniors: a Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis.
Article in Canadian geriatrics journal : CGJ, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Health benefits and harms of older adult volunteering: mixed methods systematic review.The Gerontologist · 2026Pooled it
- Hobby engagement and mental wellbeing among people aged 65 years and older in 16 countries.Nature medicine · 2023Pooled it
- The Influence of Hobby Engagement on Cognitive Function Among Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study Using Statistical Analysis and Machine Learning Predictions.Neurology international · 2025Article
- Socio-psychological distress, violence, and food insecurity in women undergoing gynecological examinations: insights from a cross-sectional study of an Italian Tertiary Clinic.AJOG global reports · 2025Article
- Motivations and strategies of voluntary service for urban home-based older adults provided by volunteers with nursing background: a qualitative study.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- [Impact of Community Leader-driven Neighborhood Care Programs on Older Adults' Self-rated Health, Life Satisfaction, and Quality of Life].Jugan geon-gang gwa jilbyeong · 2025Article
- Promoting physical activity among community-dwelling seniors living in a Francophone rural area in New Brunswick: a pre-implementation qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Role and experiences of youth community health volunteers in a community health coaching programme for older adults in Singapore: a qualitative study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- A rapid systematic review of the effect of health or peer volunteers for diabetes self-management: Synthesizing evidence to guide social prescribing.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Volunteering and Changes in Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Longitudinal Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.Innovation in aging · 2023Article
- Understanding volunteer retention in a complex, community-centred intervention: A mixed methods study in Ontario, Canada.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- What is the volume, diversity and nature of recent, robust evidence for the use of peer support in health and social care? An evidence and gap map.Campbell systematic reviews · 2022Review
- Estimating Health-Related Quality of Life Based on Demographic Characteristics, Questionnaires, Gait Ability, and Physical Fitness in Korean Elderly Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVolunteers are increasingly promoted to improve health-related outcomes for community-dwelling elderly without synthesized evidence for effectiveness. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the effects of unpaid volunteer interventions on health-related outcomes for such seniors.
methodsMEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane (CENTRAL) were searched up to November 2018. We included English language, randomized trials. Two reviewers independently identified studies, extracted data, and assessed evidence certainty (using GRADE). Meta-analysis used random-effects models. Univariate meta-regressions investigated the relationship between volunteer intervention effects and trial participant age, percentage females, and risk of bias.
results28 included studies focussed on seniors with a variety of chronic conditions (e.g., dementia, diabetes) and health states (e.g., frail, palliative). Volunteers provided a range of roles (e.g., counsellors, educators and coaches). Low certainty evidence found that volunteers may improve both physical function (MD = 3.2 points on the 100-point SF-36 physical component score [PCS]; 95% CI: 1.09, 5.27) and physical activity levels (SMD = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.14 to 0.83). Adverse events were not increased.
conclusionVolunteers may increase physical activity levels and subjective ratings of physical function for seniors without apparent harm. These findings support the WHO call to action on evidence-based policies to align health systems in support of older adults.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.