1. Unlocking Potential project Advisory Group Meeting Research project The impact of formal volunteering on the health and well-being of older people in Northern Ireland. Presentation of Timepoint 1 findings Dr. John Mallett & Prof. Maurice Stringer University of Ulster

2. Overview 1.Overview of some of the health related scales 2.Description of baseline sample Local Government District EUROSTAT NUTS (Level 3) Old Health & Social Care areas Demographics (Age, gender, income) 3. Organisational classification 4. Main activities carried out within organisations 5. Reported health Diagnosed medical conditions. Satisfaction with health Activity levels / disability 6.Correlates of well-being scales (age, gender, living circumstances, income etc..). 7. Summary

3. 1. Overview of some of the health related scales - (WHOQOL)-BREF - General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). - Diagnosed medical conditions -Lubben Social Support Scale - Experiences and Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (EAAQ)

4. Table 1 QUALITY OF LIFE THE (WHOQOL) -BREF Domain 1.Physical health Activities of daily living Dependence on medicines and medical aids Energy & fatigue Mobility Pain and discomfort Sleep & rest Work capacity 2. Psychological Bodily image and appearance Negative feelings Positive feelings Self-esteem Thinking, learning, memory, concentration Spirituality, religion, meaning in life 3. Environment Financial resources Freedom, physical safety and security Health & Social care: accessibility & quality Home environment Opportunities for acquiring new information & skills Participation in and opportunities for recreation/ leisure activities Healthy Physical environment Transport 4. Social Relationships * Personal relationships Social Support Sexual activity

5. The Lubben Social Network Scale Can be used to assess the level of social support available to an individual Measures: 10 questions (1) family networks: 3 questions (2) friends networks: 3 questions (3) confidant relationships: 2 questions (4) helping others: 1 two part question (5) living arrangements: 1 question This study used used parts 1 and 2 only

6. Reported medical conditions as diagnosed by a doctor or consultant Individuals tick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each of the following 1.High blood pressure 2.Diabetes or high blood sugar 3.Cancer or malignant tumor 4.Chronic lung disease 5.Heart attack or other heart problems 6.Stroke 7.Arthritis or rheumatism These are classified as significant medical problems based on Lumm & Lightfoot, 2005) These questions can be examined individually and / or aggregated to form a total diagnosed physical health score. High scores indicate more health conditions.

7. EXPERIENCES AND ATTITUDES TO AGEING QUESTIONNAIRE (EAAQ) Q15a-Q15g (1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly agree) Q17a-Q17q (1=not at all true, 5=extremely true). Psychological loss Scale 3. Old age is a time of loneliness. 6. Old age is a depressing time of life. 9. I find it more difficult to talk about my feelings as I get older. 12. I see old age mainly as a time of loss. 15. I am losing my physical independence as I get older. 17. As I get older, I find it more difficult to make new friends. 20. I don’t feel involved in society now that I am older. 22. I feel excluded from things because of my age.

8. EXPERIENCES AND ATTITUDES TO AGEING QUESTIONNAIRE (EAAQ) Q15a-Q15g (1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly agree) Q17a-Q17q (1=not at all true, 5=extremely true). Physical Change Scale 7. It is important to take exercise at any age. 8. Growing older has been easier than I thought. 11. I don’t feel old. 13. My identity is not defined by my age. 14. I have more energy now than I expected for my age. 16.Problems with my physical health do not hold me back from doing what I want to. 23. My health is better than I expected for my age. 24. I keep myself as fit and active as possible by exercising.

9. EXPERIENCES AND ATTITUDES TO AGEING QUESTIONNAIRE (EAAQ) Q15a-Q15g (1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly agree) Q17a-Q17q (1=not at all true, 5=extremely true). Psychological Gain 1 As people get older they are better able to cope with life. 2. It is a privilege to grow old. 4. Wisdom comes with age. 5. There are many pleasant things about growing older. 10. I am more accepting of myself as I have grown older. 18.It is very important to pass on the benefits of my experiences to younger people. 19. I believe my life has made a difference. 21. I want to give a good example to younger people.

10. Table 2 Psychometric scale reliabilities Psychometric Scale Reliability coefficient Cronbach’s alpha Number of items in scale (WHOQOL)-BREF Well being/ Quality of life Physical health.887 Psychological health.796 Envirnonmental.828 Goldberg et al.,GHQ-12.6912 Laidlaw’s Experiences and Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (EAAQ) Psychological loss.778 Psychological gain.688 Physical change.768 LubbenSocial Support Scale.856

11. 2. Description of baseline sample Local Government District EUROSTAT NUTS (Level 3) Old Health & Social Care areas Demographics (Age, gender, income)

12. Fig 2.1 Survey response rate by Local Government District (LGN)

13. Fig. 2.2 Survey response rate by Local Government District (LGN)

14. Sample Response % NameArea 21.3 1. Belfast 16.8 2. Outer Belfast Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Lisburn, Newtownabbey, North Down 14.8 3. East Antrim, Ards, Ballymena, Banbridge, Craigavon, Down, Larne 21.3 4. North Ballymoney, Coleraine, Derry, Limavady, Moyle, Strabane 16.85. West & South Armagh, Cookstown, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Magherafelt, Newry and Mourne, Omagh EurostatEurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) Level 3Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 21.3% 16.8% 14.8% Table 3

15. Sample Response % NameArea 42.6% 1. Eastern Ards, Belfast, Castlereagh, Down, Lisburn, North Down 17.9% 2. Northern Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Cookstown, Larne, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newtownabbey 20.7% 3. Southern Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon, Dungannon and South Tyrone, Newry and Mourne 9.8.%4. Western Derry, Fermanagh, Limavady, Omagh, Strabane Health and Social Care areas There were four health and social services boards which were replaced by a single Health and Social Care Board in April 2009. The former health and social services boards were as follows: 17.9% 9.8% 20.7% 42.6% Table 4

16. Fig 2.3

17. Fig 2.4

18. - 281 respondents (78.9%) were located within Voluntary / Community organisations - 12 respondents (3.4%) were based within faith-based church organisations - 6 respondents (1.7%) were based within statutory organisations. - 57 respondents (16%) did not provide information on the type of organisation. 3. Organisational classification

19. 3. Main activities carried out within organisations

20. Main activities carried out by respondents in volunteering organisation Fig. 3.1

21. Reasons given for becoming involved in volunteering Fig 3.2

22. 4. Reported health -Diagnosed medical conditions. -Satisfaction with health - Activity levels

23. Fig 4.1

24. Fig 4.2

25. Fig 4.3

26. 4. Reported health -Diagnosed medical conditions -Satisfaction with health - Activity levels

27. Fig 4.4

28. Fig 4.5

29. Fig 4.6

30. 4. Reported health -Diagnosed medical conditions -Satisfaction with health - Activity levels

31. Fig 4.7

32. Fig 4.8

33. Fig 4.9

34. Fig 4.10

35. Fig 4.11

36. Reported health -Diagnosed medical conditions -Satisfaction with health - Activity levels

37. Table 5. Pearson zero-order correlations between Main Health Scales and demographic variables. Number of diagnosed medical conditions WHO Physical health Scale WHO Psychological health Scale WHO Environmental health Scale WHO Quality of Life scale GHQ-12 Age.138**.104.156**.146**.176**.054 Gender.001.006-.031-.044-.050.104 Household income £ -.088.175**.170**.284**.226**-.088 Receiving Pension credit.156**-.136*.039-.142*-.093.100 Have a Disability.343** -.536**-.272**-.366**-.505**.038 Caring responsibilities.086.001-.006.025.005-.057 Living alone.005-.065-.070-.056-.054-.027 Retired.169-.060.083.123*.037-.115 Schooling-.132*.198**.070.248**.156**-.044

38. Table 6. Pearson zero-order correlations between Main Health Scales and demographic variables. Demographics EAAQ Psychological Loss Scale EAAQ Physical Change Scale EAAQ Psychological Gain Scale Lubben Social Support scale Age.049.180**.001.158** Gender.065-.046.071-.047 Weekly Household income £ -.254**.106.032-.088 Receiving Pension credit.002.031.124*.132* Have a Disability.252**-.302**-.028-.110* Caring responsibilities -.046.038.110.132* Living alone.166**-.054-.009-.073 Retired-.033.109-.002.100 Schooling-.135*.098-.042-.024

39. Table 7. Number of experienced volunteers by local government area and age. AGE IN 10 YEAR BLOCKS Total 50-59 YEARS60-69 YEARS70-79 YEARS80-90 YEARS 1.00 ANTRIM21003 2.00 ARDS12014 3.00 ARMAGH01102 4.00 BALLYMENA10001 5.00 BALLYMONEY22015 6.00 BANBRIDGE11002 7.00 BELFAST17208247 8.00 CARRICKFERGUS01001 10.00 COLERAINE091010 11.00 COOKSTOWN12104 12.00 CRAIGAVON04105 13.00 DERRY4712225 14.00 DOWN762015 15.00 DUNGANNON & SOUTH TYRONE 20204 16.00 FERMANAGH15107 17.00 LARNE02103 18.00 LIMAVADY11002 19.00 LISBURN291012 20.00 MAGHERAFELT11002 21.00 MOYLE10001 22.00 NEWRY & MOURNE15107 23.00 NEWTOWNABBEY273113 24.00 NORTH DOWN1143220 25.00 OMAGH193013 26.00 STRABANE03003 TOTALS49112419211

40. AGE IN 10 YEAR BLOCKSTotals 50-59 YEARS 60-69 YEARS70-79 YEARS80-90 YEARS 1.00 ANTRIM01001 2.00 ARDS05207 3.00 ARMAGH20002 5.00 BALLYMONEY11114 6.00 BANBRIDGE02002 7.00 BELFAST6164026 8.00 CARRICKFERGUS10001 9.00 CASTLEREAGH01001 10.00 COLERAINE451010 11.00 COOKSTOWN01001 12.00 CRAIGAVON02002 13.00 DERRY173011 14.00 DOWN35008 15.00 DUNGANNON & SOUTH TYRONE 00101 16.00 FERMANAGH02114 18.00 LIMAVADY00101 19.00 LISBURN13116 20.00 MAGHERAFELT10001 22.00 NEWRY & MOURNE 23207 23.00 NEWTOWNABBEY03003 24.00 NORTH DOWN12003 25.00 OMAGH12003 26.00 STRABANE02002 TOTALS2463173107 Table 8. Number of new volunteers by local government area and age.

41. Summary - The sample covers all local government districts in N. Ireland with expected higher representation from urban areas. - There were proportionately more females (60%). -The sample was well represented in terms of age spread with the majority of respondents aged between 60-69. - The sample contained a good mix of new and existing volunteers -One quarter of the sample did not answer the question on income. -Of those who answered the income question the income distribution was widely spread with a smaller but significant number of higher household incomes reported. - This was mirrored by a diverse range of educational backgrounds.

42. Summary- Health A largely healthy sample with some age related differencesin health and attitudes recorded. Positive attitudes to health were expressed by the majority of respondents. The most commonly reported medical conditions were high blood pressure (33%)and arthritis/ rheumatism (30%) with much lower numbers reporting other significant medical conditions (Heart 12%, Diabetes (8%), Stroke (2.8%), Cancer 2.5%, lung disease (3.4%). Activity levels were high among the majority of volunteers Psychological scales performed largely as expected in relation to demographic differences. Questions?...