Informal Helping and Subsequent Health and Well-Being in Older U.S. Adults

International Journal of Behavioral Medicine - Trang 1-13 - 2023
Julia S. Nakamura1, Matthew T. Lee2,3, Tyler J. VanderWeele2,4,5, Eric S. Kim1,2,6
1Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
3Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, Waco, USA
4Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
5Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
6Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA

Tóm tắt

Growing evidence suggests that informal helping (unpaid volunteering not coordinated by an organization or institution) is associated with improved health and well-being outcomes. However, studies have not investigated whether changes in informal helping are associated with subsequent health and well-being. This study evaluated if changes in informal helping (between t0;2006/2008 and t1;2010/2012) were associated with 35 indicators of physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health and well-being (at t2;2014/2016) using data from 12,998 participants in the Health and Retirement study — a national cohort of US adults aged > 50. Over the four-year follow-up period, informal helping ≥ 100 (versus 0) hours/year was associated with a 32% lower mortality risk (95% CI [0.54, 0.86]), and improved physical health (e.g., 20% reduced risk of stroke (95% CI [0.65, 0.98])), health behaviors (e.g., 11% increased likelihood of frequent physical activity (95% CI [1.04, 1.20])), and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., higher purpose in life (β = 0.15, 95% CI [0.07, 0.22])). However, there was little evidence of associations with various other outcomes. In secondary analyses, this study adjusted for formal volunteering and a variety of social factors (e.g., social network factors, receiving social support, and social participation) and results were largely unchanged. Encouraging informal helping may improve various aspects of individuals’ health and well-being and also promote societal well-being.

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