Promoting Volunteering Among Older Adults in Hong Kong: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Volunteering has consistently been associated with better mental, physical, and cognitive health in older adulthood. However, the volunteering rate of older adults in Hong Kong is much lower than in Western countries. Few studies have examined whether interventions can be effective in motivating older adults to volunteer in Hong Kong. To fill this gap, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of a theory-based social-cognitive intervention on volunteering. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 264 community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong (Mage = 69.95 years, SDage = 6.90 years, 81.06% female) were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or an active control group. Participants in the experimental group received 4 weekly 1-hr face-to-face volunteering intervention sessions. Those in the active control group received parallel sessions targeting physical activity instead of volunteering. The time spent on volunteering per month was self-reported and measured at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention. Self-efficacy, intention, action planning, and self-monitoring of volunteering were measured as mediators. RESULTS: Monthly volunteering minutes increased among participants in the experimental group when compared with the active control group at 6-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-ups. Self-efficacy, intention, and action planning consistently mediated the effect of the intervention on volunteering minutes. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention on volunteering behavior in older adults in Hong Kong through well-established behavior change techniques.

Attitudes toward euthanasia: implications for social work practice.

This article reports the findings of a randomized general household survey that examined the attitudes of 618 Chinese respondents toward different types of euthanasia. The general public is found to agree with active euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia, but is neutral about passive euthanasia. Support for euthanasia is predicted by decreasing importance of religious belief, higher family income, experiences in taking care of terminally ill family members, being non-Protestants, and increasing age. Patients were perceived as the chief decision makers in euthanasian decisions. Finally, suggestions on social work practice and professional training are made.

Promoting the psychosocial health of the elderly- the role of social workers.

With the ageing of the global population, the wellbeing of older people in different parts of the world merits special attention. However, recent findings on certain aspects of the psychosocial health of the elderly are far from reassuring. The first problem is the inconsistency in psychosocial indicators, which give simultaneous high life satisfaction scores and high suicide rates. The second problem is the significant weakening of the social support network of the elderly. This article analyses the service and policy implications of these two problems. Suggestions are then made on the role of social workers in promoting the psychosocial health of the elderly at different levels of intervention, which include the individual level, the family and social network level, the community level and the international level.