1. Hosted by: Volunteering, subjective wellbeing and mental health: what we know and what we don’t know Dr. Daiga Kamerāde, Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham

2. Why it is important to know? For evidence based- practice and policy: To motivate, attract and retain volunteers; To demonstrate the value of volunteering in general or a specific volunteering programme. To propose and design a policy

3. Formal voluntary work

4. Subjective well-being and mental health

5. Types of evidence Qualitativ e studies Cross- sectional surveys Longitud inal panel studies Cohort studies Randomise d controlled trials Systematic Reviews and Meta analyses

6. How often, for how long, what kind of volunteering, and for whom?

7. Importance of context and volunteering frequency Kamerāde, D., Bennett, M. (2015) Unemployment, volunteering and mental health (work in progress) Sample: 2,449 unemployed in 29 European countries

9. Implications for policy and practice Volunteering as a public well-being and mental health intervention? – Not enough robust evidence – Robust pilots and their evaluation needed. Claims about volunteering: – ‘Volunteering may improve your wellbeing and mental health’ [not ‘boosts, improves, or increases’]. – ‘Nearly 60% of 70 volunteers in this volunteering programme reported improved wellbeing’. Evaluations: – If improved wellbeing and mental health are not the key expected outcome: different research questions and variety of designs; – If SWB and mental health are the key expected outcomes: consider pragmatic randomised controlled trials.

10. More information Kamerāde, D. (2015) Third sector impact on human resources and community: a critical review. TSRC Working Paper Series No.134. Seventh Framework Programme (grant agreement 613034), European Union. Brussels: Third Sector Impact Jenkinson, C., Dickens, A., Jones, K., Thompson-Coon, J., Taylor, R., Rogers, M., et al. (2013). Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 773.