Volunteering as an Equalizer: A Quasi-Experimental Study Using Propensity Score Analysis

Kim, Seoyoun; Halvorsen, Cal

doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2021.05.004

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Because SCSEP administrators and host agencies are public and nonprofit agencies, participants are often exposed to other social and health programs that these agencies offer or link clients to. Related evidence was revealed in a recent study of older volunteers, in which the least wealthy (many of whom would likely be eligible for SCSEP) experienced the greatest gains in health when volunteering at nonprofit organizations ( Kim & Halvorsen, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

How the Senior Community Service Employment Program Influences Participant Well-Being: A Participatory Research Approach With Program Recommendations

et al. 2022

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The federal Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides on-the-job training to people 55 years and older with incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty level with multiple barriers to employment. This study examined the processes by which SCSEP may influence participant financial, physical, and mental well-being. We engaged 15 SCSEP participants and case managers over four virtual and one telephone session using a participatory research method called community-based system dynamics. Activities included identifying key problem trends, variable elicitation, developing a causal map, and identifying changes to the system to increase participant well-being. Respondents identified how individual, organizational, and program and policy factors relate to participant well-being (e.g., SCSEP participation reduces social isolation, which increases desire to participate) and suggested program and policy recommendations to strengthen SCSEP (e.g., benchmarks of success should include health and well-being outcomes). These findings highlight the benefits and potential of this long-running program.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

How the Senior Community Service Employment Program Influences Participant Well-Being: A Participatory Research Approach With Program Recommendations

et al. 2022

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“…In order to reduce the confounding bias caused by grouping, signi cant pathological grouping factors in the chisquared test were included in propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. The non-ACT and ACT groups were matched 1:1 [9].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prognostic nomogram for resectable gastric cancer after preoperative chemotherapy to assist in decision-making for adjuvant chemotherapy: a retrospective study combined with external validation

Zhou

2023

Preprint

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Background Neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy is the standard treatment for resectable gastric cancer, but whether these patients can benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy remains unclear. Methods A total of 732 patients with initially diagnosed non-metastatic resectable gastric cancer between 2004 and 2016 were screened using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Results database of the National Cancer Institute of the United States and retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 366 patients received postoperative chemotherapy and 506 patients did not. The propensity score matching was used to balance the two groups of confounding factors, the Kaplan–Meier method was used for survival analysis, and the logrank test was used to compare the differences between the survival curves. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to screen independent prognostic factors and establish a nomogram survival prediction model. The patients were divided into high-, moderate-, and low-risk groups according to the overall survival prediction score generated by X-tile software based on the nomogram. Results Multivariate analysis showed that the independent prognostic factors of gastric cancer in the group not receiving chemotherapy were history, ypT stage, ypN stage, and examined lymph node count, which were included in the nomogram prediction model. The C-index for the model was 0.727 (95% confidence interval, 0.65056–0.80344). The patients were divided into three different risk level groups based on the nomogram prediction score. Low- and moderate-risk patients did not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, while high-risk patients did. Conclusion The nomogram model in the present study can effectively evaluate the prognosis of patients with resectable gastric cancer. In addition, postoperative chemotherapy can be recommended for high-risk patients, but not for low-risk patients.

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“…More broadly, and because volunteering in this study was completed through charitable organizations, it may increase one’s knowledge of health and human services or health behaviors that, when accessed or acted upon, lead to better cardiovascular health. A separate study found that lower-wealth volunteers experienced greater gains in self-reported health, which could also be explained by learning about safety net programs available to them that higher-wealth volunteers may not need or be eligible for ( Kim & Halvorsen, 2021 ). This link between working in nonprofit and public agencies and knowledge of safety net supports has been found in low-income older adults in the Senior Community Service Employment Program ( Halvorsen et al, 2022 ), where the participants noted that their knowledge of programs like SNAP benefits (“food stamps”) increased.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current IPTW balances the treated and untreated groups in terms of age, gender, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, employment status, health, depressive symptoms, marital status, informal volunteering, wealth, and income. A detailed description of the creation of these weights can be found in Kim and Halvorsen (2021) . Combined with the OWA, this study’s outcome analysis is doubly robust, which has been shown to reduce bias in estimated effects ( Funk et al, 2011 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the health benefits of role occupancy, role theory stipulates that multiple roles (and identities) possessed by individuals lead to less psychological distress and better physical well-being ( Thoits, 1983 ). Indeed, the role accumulation argument garnered substantive empirical support on a variety of health outcomes such as heightened sense of self-efficacy, greater positive affect, life satisfaction, self-reported health, and lower depressive symptoms, particularly in later life when role exits become more prevalent due to empty nest, retirement, or widowhood ( Kim & Halvorsen, 2021 ; Kim et al, 2020 ; Rozario et al, 2004 ). The findings are consistent with the unique benefits of voluntary roles, as opposed to obligatory roles, as they are adopted by choice and can be exited fairly easily if the costs exceed the rewards ( Thoits, 2012 ).…”

Section: Background and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Volunteering and Changes in Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Longitudinal Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study

Kim

Halvorsen

Han

2023

Innovation in Aging

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Background and Objectives Growing body of research shows that volunteering is beneficial for those served, the volunteers, and the larger communities. However, major challenges remain that hinder the practical implications for volunteer activity as a public health intervention, including potential selection effects, lack of longitudinal studies that adjust for baseline characteristics, and a paucity of studies that consider multiple physical health outcomes in a single model. Research Design and Methods Data from 2006-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016) was used (N=18,847). Outcome-wide analyses were utilized to evaluate if changes in volunteering between 2006/2008 (t0) and 2010/2012 (t1) were associated with seven cardiovascular disease biomarkers four years later (2014/2016, t2). These models were adjusted for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, health behaviors, chronic conditions, and baseline biomarkers and volunteering. Additionally, selection into volunteering and attrition were taken into account. Results Compared to non-volunteers, volunteering more than 200 hours a year was associated with a lower risk for clinically high diastolic blood pressure. In addition, increased volunteering effort (change from 1-99 hours at t0 to >100 hours at t1) was associated with a lower likelihood of clinically high systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. Sustained high volunteering (>100 hours at both t0 and t1) was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure. Discussion and Implications The current study adds to the evidence on health benefits of volunteering for adults 50 and older by inferring a potential causal link between high-intensity volunteering and reduced blood pressure.

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Volunteering as an Equalizer: A Quasi-Experimental Study Using Propensity Score Analysis

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

How the Senior Community Service Employment Program Influences Participant Well-Being: A Participatory Research Approach With Program Recommendations

How the Senior Community Service Employment Program Influences Participant Well-Being: A Participatory Research Approach With Program Recommendations

Prognostic nomogram for resectable gastric cancer after preoperative chemotherapy to assist in decision-making for adjuvant chemotherapy: a retrospective study combined with external validation

Volunteering and Changes in Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Longitudinal Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study

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