Health benefits of volunteer work studied

One year after putting out the call, Baycrest is still searching for subjects for a study to determine the health benefits of volunteer work.

The goal is to explore whether volunteering affects brain health, as well as to make Baycrest the agency of choice for volunteers, according to a June 15 slide show presented mostly to volunteers to mark the one-year anniversary of the study’s launch.

The study is called Baycrest Research About Volunteering in Older Adults, or BRAVO for short.

Its hypothesis is that volunteering should protect against cognitive decline, and that more complex volunteer positions produce a greater gain, explained Nicole Anderson, a psychologist involved in the study and a scientist in Baycrest’s Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit.

Investigating the benefits of individual volunteer jobs has never been done before, she added.

“Volunteering has an amazing effect on the individual,” said Lesley Miller, volunteer leadership chair for BRAVO, adding that she’s seen people become more energetic, confident and cheerful after their volunteer experience.

“Everybody knows anecdotally that most people benefit from volunteer work, but this is a really scientific way of studying it,” said Susan Dane, a leadership volunteer who began working with Baycrest in 2007.

One interesting aspect to the study is that all of the leadership volunteers are considered seniors, since they’re all at least 55 years old, she added. “You’ve got seniors testing seniors.”

The research involves putting volunteers through a series of physical, cognitive and social tests.

One physical test, for example, asks a subject to walk as far as he or she can in six minutes. The test is performed at the start of the volunteer period, then again six months in and at the one-year completion mark, Anderson said.

Studies have already proven that there are brain health benefits to physical and mental exercise, as well as social interaction.

“You could join a walking program or a book club,” Anderson said, “but the nice thing about volunteering is you get all of those benefits, and it’s a win-win. You’re helping people at the same time.”

As of the anniversary presentation, 43 people have been enrolled in the program, and the goal is to find 200 participants.

“We have a big challenge to overcome,” said Tony Fattal, a volunteer who’s primarily involved in marketing the study. “One of the things is that we are looking for a very specific type of individual.”

The volunteers have to be at least 55 years old, retired, not currently volunteering in a formal setting more than three or fours hours per month, and willing to spend about three hours per week at Baycrest for one year.

“Usually people who are busy and interested are already doing something,” said Syrelle Bernstein, Baycrest’s director of volunteer services, adding that the most promising group has been new retirees looking to get involved.

Even if someone doesn’t fit the criteria, they can still volunteer at Baycrest, Bernstein said, explaining that she has recruited more than 100 people since advertising the study.

People who are newly retired may find the experience especially rewarding, Miller said.

Anybody interested in joining the study should contact Bernstein at 416-785-2500 ext. 2577.