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Engaging Older Adults in High Impact Volunteering that Enhances Health: Recruitment and Retention in the Experience Corps® Baltimore

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Abstract

Engagement in social and generative activities has benefits for the well-being of older adults; hence, methods for broadly engaging them in such activities are desired. Experience Corps Baltimore, a social model for health promotion for older adult volunteers in public schools, offers insight to such successful recruitment and retention. We report on data over a 4-year period in Baltimore City, Maryland, and describe a five-stage screening process implemented to recruit a diverse group of senior volunteers who would remain in the program for at least 1 year. The sample consisted of 443 older adults expressing an interest in and screened for volunteering. Comparisons were made with Chi-square and Fisher’s t-test between those who entered the program and those who did not and those who were retained in the program. Gender, race, age group, and prior volunteering were significant in ultimate volunteer service in the schools. Overall, 38% of 443 persons recruited entered the schools; 94% of participants were over 60 years (p = 0.05) with a mean age of 69 years; 90% were women (p = 0.03), and 93% African-American (p = 0.005); 57% had not volunteered in the past year (p = 0.004). Ninety-two percent were retained in the first year; 80% returned a second year. Among the latter, 83% had <12 years of education (p = 0.001). Participants remained in the program for a second year of volunteering regardless of baseline MMSE score, self-reported health, and motivation for volunteering. In conclusion, it is possible to recruit and retain a diverse pool of older adults to participate in a high-intensity volunteer program, including non-traditional volunteers. Of special note is the success in recruiting African-American women and those with lower education, who may particularly benefit from health promotion.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported, in part, by funding from the following sources: the Retirement Research Foundation, The Erickson Foundation, the State of Maryland, The State of Maryland Department of Education, the Baltimore City Public Schools, The Baltimore City Commission on Aging and Retirement Education, The Johns Hopkins Prevention Center, and the Corporation for National Service. We would like to thank AARP for crucial support with recruitment, as well as Sylvia McGill, Director of Public Education Programs of the Greater Homewood Community Corporation, Robin Parsell, Project Director of Experience Corps Baltimore, and Don Baughman, Data Manager. George Rebok co-designed the cognitive screening criteria. Joel Hill led initial recruitment efforts, assisted in the design of the training, and aided in data collection. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the contribution made by recruiters who have worked with ECB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center on Aging and Health, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2223, USA

    Iveris L. Martinez PhD

Authors
  1. Iveris L. Martinez PhD
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  2. Kevin Frick
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  3. Thomas A. Glass
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  4. Michelle Carlson
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  5. Elizabeth Tanner
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  6. Michelle Ricks
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  7. Linda P. Fried
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Correspondence to Iveris L. Martinez PhD.

Additional information

Martinez is with the Center on Aging and Health, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD 21205-2223, USA; Frick is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Room 606, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Glass is with the Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Carlson is with the Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Tanner is with the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, John Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Ricks is with the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Fried is with the Center on Aging and Health, Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

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Martinez, I.L., Frick, K., Glass, T.A. et al. Engaging Older Adults in High Impact Volunteering that Enhances Health: Recruitment and Retention in the Experience Corps® Baltimore. JURH 83, 941–953 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9058-1

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