Factors associated with community volunteering among adults over the age of 50 in Malaysia

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 19; no. 5; p. e0302220
• Main Authors: Sutan, Rosnah, Alavi, Khadijah, Sallahuddin, Siti Norain, Abdul Manaf, Mohd Rizal, Jaafar, Mohd Hasni, Shahar, Suzana, Abdul Maulud, Khairul Nizam, Embong, Zaini, Keliwon, Kamarul Baraini, Markom, Ruzian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 16-05-2024; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Aged; Aging; Biology and Life Sciences; Censuses; Chronic illnesses; Community participation; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Demographics; Demography; Disease; Education; Elder care; Engineering and Technology; Female; Health promotion; Humans; Likert scale; Living arrangements; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Older people; Participation; People and Places; Population; Public health; Public transportation; Questionnaires; Random sampling; Regression analysis; Regression models; Rural areas; Sampling techniques; Social aspects; Social factors; Social interactions; Social Sciences; Social Support; Society; Statistical sampling; Surveys and Questionnaires; Variables; Volunteerism; Volunteers; Volunteers - psychology; Volunteers - statistics & numerical data; Malaysia; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302220

Community volunteering is defined as voluntary participation in activities and services to benefit the local community. It has potential benefits to promote social, physical, and mental well-being, and it enhances productive, healthy, and active aging. The tendency to volunteer varies across individuals and communities. There is limited knowledge of contributing factors influencing volunteering among Malaysian adults over the age of 50.
The present study aims to assess the association of demographic, cultural, and social factors with volunteering among Malaysian adults over the age of 50.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 involving 3,034 Malaysians aged 50 years and above across Malaysia, selected using a multi-stratified random sampling technique based on National Census 2020 data. A validated survey questionnaire to determine the demographic factor (age, sex, education level, employment status, health status, physical disability, and location of residence), cultural factor (ethnicity and religion), and social factor (social support, marital status, living arrangement, mode of transportation) that influence voluntary participation was distributed and collected. The association between these factors and volunteer participation was analysed using logistic regression models to identify significant predictors of voluntary participation among Malaysian adults over the age of 50.
A regression model indicates that living in rural areas (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.63-2.53), having higher education level (Tertiary level: OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.86-4.13), being employed (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.10-1.56), differences in ethnicity background (Chinese: OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.39-0.86) and ease of transportation (Driving private transport: OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.19-1.32; Public transport: OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00-1.154) were significantly associated with volunteering with R2 Nagelkerke of 0.147.
Recognising various factors towards community volunteering should be addressed by policymakers and volunteer organisations to increase volunteer participation from potential adults over the age of 50 in promoting healthy and active ageing.