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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Program of Health Volunteer Promoters for OlderAdults: The Well-Being of the Volunteers at Leisure Time

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The study of ageing processes has gained increased attention in recent years, partly due to the growth of this population group (United Nations, World population prospects: The 2015 revision. New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf. Accessed 25 Sep 2016, 2015). Research into this area has focused on older adult well-being (Au et al, Clinical Gerontologist 38:203–210, 2015) and the identification of factors having an influence on well-being at this stage of the life cycle (Carstensen, Current Directions in Psychological Science 4:151–156, 1995). These lines of research have emphasized the concept of active ageing (Diener and Chan, Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being 3:1–43, 2011). Active ageing supports the proposition that older adults should develop their abilities through activities that make a contribution to society: volunteering is one of such activities (Gonzales et al., The Gerontologist 55:252–261, 2015). It is worth noting that older persons experience free time as a major change to which they must adapt. When they can turn their free time into leisure time, they obtain countless benefits that have a positive impact on well-being. (Lloyd and Auld, Social Indicators Research 57:43–71, 2002). For this reason, volunteering is particularly important in old age. Volunteering has become a form of occupation of leisure time, socialization and a fundamental expression of solidarity for older adults (Montero Garcia and Bedmar Moreno, Polis 9:61–84, 2010). In line with these developments, this chapter describes an intervention program called Health Volunteer Promoter Course for Older Adults and discusses its features, the line of work adopted and the activities carried out by the participants as their social and community-based participation is encouraged and training is provided on an ongoing basis.