Читать книгу Achieving Excellence in Fundraising - Группа авторов - Страница 109

Volunteering increases physical activity since it gets people out of the house. Volunteering is especially beneficial for older adults who were previously inactive, with one study finding that their physical activity increased 110 percent after being assigned 4–8 months of volunteering. Older adults who help others more informally also have increased physical activity.

As for healthcare usage, our research finds that older adult volunteers are more likely to use preventative healthcare services: they are 30 percent more likely to get a flu shot, 47 percent more likely to get cholesterol tests, women are 53 percent more likely to receive mammograms and 21 percent more likely to receive Pap smears, and men are 59 percent more likely to receive prostate exams. These can help to identify or prevent more serious health conditions. We also found that volunteers spent 38 percent less time in the hospital compared to nonvolunteers.