A systematic review of episodic volunteering in public health and other contexts

Abstract

BackgroundEpisodic volunteers are a critical resource for public health non-profit activities but are poorly understood. A systematic review was conducted to describe the empirical evidence about episodic volunteering (EV) in the public health sector and more broadly. Study location, focus and temporal trends of EV research were also examined.MethodsTwelve key bibliographic databases (1990-April week 2, 2014) were searched, including Google Scholar. Empirical studies published in English in peer-reviewed journals that identified participants as EVs who volunteered to support Not-for-Profit organisations in the health and social welfare sectors were included. EV definitions, characteristics, economic costs, antecedents and outcomes and theoretical approaches were examined.Results41 articles met initial review criteria and 20 were specific to the health or social welfare sectors. EV definitions were based on one or more of three dimensions of duration, frequency, and task. EVs were predominantly female, middle aged, Caucasian (North American) and college/university educated. Fundraising was the most common EV activity and 72% had volunteered at least once. No studies examined the economic costs of EV. There was little consistency in EV antecedents and outcomes, except motives which primarily related to helping others, forming social connections, and self-psychological or physical enhancement. Most studies were atheoretical. Three authors proposed new theoretical frameworks.ConclusionsResearch is required to underpin the development of an agreed consensus definition of EV. Moreover, an EV evidence-base including salient theories and measures is needed to develop EV engagement and retention strategies for the health and social welfare sectors.

Episodic Volunteering at a Religious Megaevent

“…But this leaves a lot of ambiguity. In their literature review, Hyde et al () found many variations of a definition for episodic volunteering with the recurring use of duration, frequency, and type of task. Despite this variation, several studies show that the most common type of volunteer is one who does both regular volunteering and episodic volunteering (AARP ; Baren and Meijs ; Cnaan and Handy ).…”

“…Furthermore, these outcomes are important to nonprofit managers who may need to pull off such events again and again, and because of the broader implications to the sector as a whole. Hyde et al (, 1) identified two problems with episodic volunteering: it (1) “reduces volunteer availability,” and (2) “increases turnover and costs for NPOs, many of whom do not have established programs or capacity to support episodic volunteers.” Although it may not be possible to reverse the trend toward episodic volunteering, it may be possible to improve the episodic volunteer experience, increasing the likelihood of repeat volunteering, and thus attenuate some of the challenges of this form of volunteerism.…”

Satisfaction, organizational commitment and future action in charity sport event volunteers

“…Given the largely atheoretical nature of episodic and CSE volunteering research (Dunn et al , ; Hyde et al , ), this study draws from two theoretical frameworks validated in volunteering research outside of the CSE context, which may be of relevance to address the gaps identified. First, the volunteer process model (Snyder & Omoto, ) proposes key volunteering constructs and links these constructs in three sequential phases: antecedents to volunteering (e.g.…”

NIRSA Championship Series Volunteerism: The Perceived Impact on Professional Development

“…Professional development is structured as supplemental to work and episodic in nature (i.e., short duration, external to the normal work environment). Volunteerism has, over the last few decades, shifted from a continuous model typified by the "career" hospital volunteer of the 1950s to 1980s to a more episodic model (Hyde, Dunn, Scuffham, & Chambers, 2014;MacDuff, 2004). Episodic volunteer experiences are short in duration and are limited to a short series of repetitions, if any.…”