健康老龄化视角下老年志愿服务研究进展

Advances in Research on Senior Volunteering from the Perspective of Healthy Aging

健康老龄化是我国应对人口老龄化的必由之路,老年志愿服务作为老年人社会参与的代表性形式,能够促进健康老龄化发展。老年人参与志愿服务的积极影响如下:志愿服务行为中的运动成分和认知功能可以有效改进身体健康状况、延缓认知老化;可以体验到积极情绪和价值感,从而可以提高心理健康水平;增加社会交往,拓宽社交网络,增强社会功能。健康问题是阻碍老年人参与志愿服务的重要因素。未来应进一步探讨老年人参与志愿服务对健康老龄化的影响、中国文化背景下老年志愿服务的积极影响及实践应用,并探讨如何针对老年人的不同特征和需求设计适宜的志愿服务项目。

“Healthy Aging”is the only way to cope with population aging in China, and senior volunteering, as a typical form of social participation, can promote healthy aging. The positive effects of older people’s participation in voluntary activities are as follows. Firstly, physical movements and cognitive functioning can effectively improve physical health and delay cognitive aging. Secondly,positive emotions and senses of value experienced in volunteering can improve people’s mental health.Thirdly, it can also increase people’s social interaction, broaden their social networks and enhance their social functions. The health problem is an important factor that hinders older adults from volunteering. On this basis, future research should further explore the impact of older adults’ participation in voluntary activities on healthy aging, the positive impact and application of elderly volunteering in the Chinese cultural context, as well as how to design appropriate programs to cater to the needs of various people.