Factors associated with the perceived need for assistance from voluntary services in home-based older adults in Chinese urban areas: a cross-sectional study

BMC Geriatrics

Research Article

Chunyan Guan¹  Hongyan Wu¹  Yilan Liu¹  Xiao Peng²  Lei Huang²  Fengjian Zhang²  Mingjiao Feng²  Yanjie You²  Yuqin Chen²  Huimin Zhao³ 

[1] Department of Nursing, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430022, Wuhan, China;Department of Nursing, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430022, Wuhan, China;School of Nursing, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430030, Wuhan, China;School of Nursing, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430030, Wuhan, China;

关键词: Older adults;    Assistance needs;    Voluntary services;    Volunteer;    Home-based;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-023-04354-7

 received in 2022-05-30, accepted in 2023-09-25,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWith China's rapidly aging population, meeting the diverse care needs of senior citizens is becoming more challenging. Although voluntary social services have numerous advantages and are popular among older adults, there is little information on the need for assistance from volunteer-based social services, particularly those with a medical background, and influencing factors among urban home-based older adults. This study aimed to assess the need for assistance from voluntary services and related factors among urban home-based older adults in China.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 on communities in four cities in China. The 27-item Home-Based Older Adults Assistance Need Scale was used to measure the assistance needs of 498 participants aged 60 and above. Multiple linear regression models were conducted to identify salient variables associated with the need for assistance from voluntary services.ResultsThe mean score of the need for assistance from voluntary services was 88.60 ± 24.37. The mean scores of the items examining four dimensions, namely, health maintenance, visiting communication, social intercourse, and daily life, were 3.64 ± 1.08, 3.49 ± 1.04, 3.33 ± 1.08, and 2.78 ± 1.08, respectively. The level of depression, willingness to assist older adults, attaching importance to health preservation, ability to self-comfort, desire to accept assistance from others, and the presence of more children or none at all were all positively correlated with the perceived need for assistance from voluntary services. In contrast, social care obtained from visiting medical institutions was negatively correlated. These seven factors explained 28.5% of the total variance.ConclusionsUrban home-based older adults in China were found to have significant requirements for assistance from volunteer services, and several complex factors were associated with more significant assistance needs. These findings may encourage the extremely limited numbers of social volunteers, particularly those with a medical background, to identify priorities in providing assistance services to the large numbers of urban home-based older adults and thus improve service delivery.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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