voluntary participation in research pdf

Download PDF
Share X Facebook Email LinkedIn
Permissions

Informed Consent—We Can and Should Do Better

1 Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, Section on Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, North Carolina
Original Investigation Assessment of Length and Readability of Informed Consent Documents for COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD; Connor W. Boyle, BA JAMA Network Open

Informed consent is fundamental to the ethical and legal doctrines respecting research participants’ voluntary participation in clinical research, enshrined in such documents as the 1947 Nuremberg Code; reaffirmed in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki, revised in 1975, and the 1978 Belmont Report; and codified in the United States in the 1981 Common Rule, revised in 2018 and implemented in 2019. 1

Informed consent generally is understood to represent a process, with the informed consent document having a central role. The characteristics of a well-designed consent form are well known: the document must contain information, some statutorily defined, necessary to allow a participant to make an informed decision; be written at a reading level appropriate for its audience; and be of a length that enables complete and thorough reading. Yet, the content and structure of this document has been the subject of discussion for at least 3 decades, with a consistent consensus throughout this time that these documents are too difficult to read, too complex, and too long and, as a result, frequently fail to facilitate truly informed consent by study participants. While much of the blame for the failure to provide sufficiently detailed, readable, and brief consent forms has been laid at the feet of sponsors and investigators, the reality is that, while it is possible to incorporate 2 of these 3 elements into a consent form, it is all but impossible to incorporate all 3, ie, concise, sufficiently detailed yet easily readable, for anything but the simplest of clinical trials.

The study by Emmanuel and Boyle 2 reviews the consent forms for the COVID-19 vaccine phase III randomized clinical trials conducted by 4 major pharmaceutical companies that resulted in US regulatory approvals for 3 of the 4 vaccines, in the context of these issues. The study by Emmanuel and Boyle 2 highlights the deficiencies of the COVID-19 vaccine trial consent forms in these areas, proposes revised consent form language to improve readability, understanding, and length, and underscores how the medical community has not responded adequately to the decades-long valid criticisms concerning informed consent forms. The revisions proposed by Emmanuel and Boyle 2 to the relatively straightforward COVID-19 vaccine trials’ consent forms yielded a document that was substantially longer than ideal, with an overall higher-grade reading level than optimal, underscoring the fundamental inability to successfully incorporate all 3 of the desirable qualities for a consent form into a single document.

Consent forms should be written at a level understandable to the average prospective participant. Many authorities, including the National Cancer Institute, 3 relying on the 2015 Institute of Medicine report “Informed Consent and Health Literacy,” recommend an eighth-grade reading level or lower for informed consent forms, but this may be too generous a standard. The average American reads at the seventh to eighth grade level, with half of US adults unable to read a book written at the eighth grade level. The most recent study of literacy among US adults, the Survey of Adult Skills conducted through the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), supports this, indicating that more than half of US adults would struggle to fully comprehend current consent forms, and among self-declared individuals in fair or poor health—those most likely to participate in clinical trials with greater than minimal risk—31% have PIACC Level 1 (ie, basic sight vocabulary and can read short texts on familiar topics to locate a single piece of information) or lower literacy skills. 4 Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude, as Emmanuel and Boyle 2 and many others have, that a sixth grade reading level is more appropriate, noting that even this level would not address the substantial proportion of the population with literacy levels below this. 5

Consent forms also should be of a length that can be easily read by the average study participant. Evidence exists that the longer a document is, the less likely people are to read it fully. In the educational context, people are unlikely to read an entire document containing more than 1000 words (ie, approximately 4 pages), and it has been proposed that consent forms should be limited to no more than 1250 words. 6 Yet consent form lengths have increased steadily over the past 4 decades, with few consent forms fewer than 10 pages in length, and most substantially longer. The COVID-19 consent forms reviewed by Emmanuel and Boyle 2 were a mean of more than 8000 words (range, 7821 to 9340 words), and despite their best efforts, Emmanuel and Boyle 2 were only able to reduce the length to just under 3000 words.

Finally, there is the issue of the actual content of the consent form. The list of mandatory items alone runs to more than 270 words in the Revised Common Rule, highlighting the challenge of writing a consent form that is complete and understandable in fewer than 1000 or even 1250 words. Compounding this is the perception that many sponsors and institutions appear to want to use consent forms primarily as legal instruments to protect against civil litigation, undermining both the primary function of the document, as well as its accessibility, to study participants.

The study by Emmanuel and Boyle 2 should be recognized as a wake-up call to sponsors, investigators, institutional review boards, and regulators to reevaluate how consent forms are drafted, reviewed, and used, along with a reappraisal of the entire consenting process. After decades of largely fruitless effort, an acknowledgment of the seemingly insurmountable challenge of drafting sufficiently detailed but easily readable and not overly lengthy documents would allow the reimagining of the entire consenting process. Considerations could include placing even greater emphasis on the discussion component of the consent process while deemphasizing the role of the consent form, a greater use of multimedia and other technology, more formal scripting of consenting discussions, mandatory documentation of confirmation of adequate comprehension by study participants, and even regulatory reform, among other improvements. Such an appraisal and revision to the process would be neither simple nor without cost, but if history is any guide, failure to act is likely to lead to having the exact same conversation a decade from now.

Published: April 28, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10848

Corresponding Author: Stefan C. Grant, MD, JD, MBA, Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, Section on Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston Salem, NC 27157 ( [email protected] ).

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Grant reported having equity in and serving as General Counsel of TheraBionic.

See More About

Grant SC. Informed Consent—We Can and Should Do Better. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(4):e2110848. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10848

Manage citations:

Select Your Interests

Customize your JAMA Network experience by selecting one or more topics from the list below.

Academic Medicine
Acid Base, Electrolytes, Fluids
Allergy and Clinical Immunology
American Indian or Alaska Natives
Anesthesiology
Anticoagulation
Art and Images in Psychiatry
Artificial Intelligence
Assisted Reproduction
Bleeding and Transfusion
Caring for the Critically Ill Patient
Challenges in Clinical Electrocardiography
Climate and Health
Climate Change
Clinical Challenge
Clinical Decision Support
Clinical Implications of Basic Neuroscience
Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Consensus Statements
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Critical Care Medicine
Cultural Competency
Dental Medicine
Dermatology
Diabetes and Endocrinology
Diagnostic Test Interpretation
Drug Development
Electronic Health Records
Emergency Medicine
End of Life, Hospice, Palliative Care
Environmental Health
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Facial Plastic Surgery
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Genetics and Genomics
Genomics and Precision Health
Global Health
Guide to Statistics and Methods
Hair Disorders
Health Care Delivery Models
Health Care Economics, Insurance, Payment
Health Care Quality
Health Care Reform
Health Care Safety
Health Care Workforce
Health Disparities
Health Inequities
Health Policy
Health Systems Science
History of Medicine
Hypertension
Images in Neurology
Implementation Science
Infectious Diseases
Innovations in Health Care Delivery
JAMA Infographic
Law and Medicine
Leading Change
Less is More
LGBTQIA Medicine
Lifestyle Behaviors
Medical Coding
Medical Devices and Equipment
Medical Education
Medical Education and Training
Medical Journals and Publishing
Mobile Health and Telemedicine
Narrative Medicine
Neuroscience and Psychiatry
Notable Notes
Nutrition, Obesity, Exercise
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Occupational Health
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Otolaryngology
Pain Medicine
Palliative Care
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Patient Care
Patient Information
Performance Improvement
Performance Measures
Perioperative Care and Consultation
Pharmacoeconomics
Pharmacoepidemiology
Pharmacogenetics
Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacology
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Physical Therapy
Physician Leadership
Population Health
Primary Care
Professional Well-being
Professionalism
Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Public Health
Pulmonary Medicine
Regulatory Agencies
Reproductive Health
Research, Methods, Statistics
Resuscitation
Rheumatology
Risk Management
Scientific Discovery and the Future of Medicine
Shared Decision Making and Communication
Sleep Medicine
Sports Medicine
Stem Cell Transplantation
Substance Use and Addiction Medicine
Surgical Innovation
Surgical Pearls
Teachable Moment
Technology and Finance
The Art of JAMA
The Arts and Medicine
The Rational Clinical Examination
Tobacco and e-Cigarettes
Translational Medicine
Trauma and Injury
Treatment Adherence
Ultrasonography
Users' Guide to the Medical Literature
Vaccination
Venous Thromboembolism
Veterans Health
Women's Health
Workflow and Process
Wound Care, Infection, Healing

Get the latest research based on your areas of interest.

Others also liked.

Register for email alerts with links to free full-text articles
Access PDFs of free articles
Manage your interests
Save searches and receive search alerts

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

We're Hiring!
Help Center

Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent to International Genetic Research

2006, American Journal of Public Health

Related Papers

teri strenski

We compared voluntary participation and comprehension of in-formed consent among individuals of African ancestry enrolled in similarly de-signed genetic studies of hypertension in the United States and Nigeria. Methods. Survey questionnaires were used to evaluate factors associated with voluntariness (the number of people volunteering) and understanding of the study’s genetic purpose. A total of 655 individuals (United States: 348; Nigeria: 307) were interviewed after participation in the genetic studies. Results. Most US respondents (99%), compared with 72 % of Nigerian respon-dents, reported being told the study purpose. Fewer than half of the respondents at both sites reported that the study purpose was to learn about genetic inheri-tance of hypertension. Most respondents indicated that their participation was vol-untary. In the United States, 97 % reported that they could withdraw, compared with 67 % in Nigeria. In Nigeria, nearly half the married women reported asking permissio...

BMC Medical Ethics

Temidayo Ogundiran

American Journal of Epidemiology

Genomics, society, and policy / ESRC Genomics Network

Cecilia Castro

Journal of Medical Ethics

Francis Masiye

Contemporary Clinical Trials

Victor Penchaszadeh

European Journal of Human Genetics

Deborah Mascalzoni

American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A

Daniel Levy

RELATED PAPERS

Anais do Congresso Internacional de Humanidades & Humanização em Saúde

Paula Bertoluci Alves Pereira

Roland Zengerle

Environmental and molecular mutagenesis

Francesco Barone Adesi

Studiositas

Martha Alix Novoa Galeano

Sabrina Orlandi

Computación y Sistemas

Carmen Bogado

IEEE Transactions on Communications

Paulo Torres

Materials Advances

Ambar Delgado

Mauricio Failla

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

David Wilson

Franz X. Heinz

2015 Computing in Cardiology Conference (CinC)

Sibylle Fallet

Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing

Yanira Santana

Patricia Torres

Violaine Prince

Science almanac of Black Sea region countries

Yulia Petrova

Ceramics International

Laurent Gremillard

Revista portuguesa de ciências do desporto

Cristiana Bessa

Xavier Calbet

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

Petra Boynton

Levent Mollamustafaoglu

Genes to Cells

Shinsuke Matsuzaki

La couleur: Matière technique et perception. Colloque 23-24 Mai 2024 Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

Alberto Virdis

Informed Consent for Participation in Research Project

First Online: 01 January 2012

Cite this chapter

Małgorzata Dawidowska 4 &
Michał Witt 4 , 5

Part of the book series: Principles and Practice ((PRINCIPLES))

1318 Accesses

The participation in a research project as well as the process of obtaining informed consent for such participation are associated with many ethical, legal, and even logistical problems; therefore, they are subject to relevant laws, regulations, and policies at both national and international level. These regulations vary from country to country, and in some countries there are still no clear regulations dedicated directly for research. This chapter discusses most relevant issues of obtaining the informed consent for participation in a research project, including those concerning preservation of samples for future research. General guidelines for the construction of an informed consent form and an information sheet for participants have been outlined in this chapter. Additionally, sample forms have been included. These guidelines might be adopted with respect to current local law regulations and the nature of a particular research project.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Available as PDF
Read on any device
Instant download
Own it forever
Available as EPUB and PDF
Compact, lightweight edition
Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
Free shipping worldwide - see info
Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Acknowledgments

This chapter was partly supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, grant N N407 311 839.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Molecular and Clinical Genetics, Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszyńska 32, 60-479, Poznań, Poland

Małgorzata Dawidowska & Michał Witt

International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Trojdena 4, 02-109, Warsaw, Poland

Michał Witt

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Małgorzata Dawidowska .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

International Institute of Molecular and, Trojdena 4, Warszawa, 02-109, Poland

Michal Witt

, Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Strzeszynska 32, Poznan, 60479, Poland

Malgorzata Dawidowska

, Department of Pediatric Hematology, Silesian Academy of Medicine, 3 Maja 13-15, Zabrze, 41800, Poland

Tomasz Szczepanski

1.1 Information for Patients, Parents, or Legal Representatives

‘Advanced molecular methods in hematology. Development and implementation of standards for molecular diagnostics of minimal residual disease, post-transplant hematopoietic chimerism, and chromosomal translocations in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia’

PROJECT MANAGER: name, surname, institution

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: names, surnames, institutions

INSTITUTION RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROJECT REALIZATION: name and address of the institution

Dear Patient, Dear Parents/Guardians,

For further progress in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in our country, it is essential to implement therapeutic protocols including the adjustment of treatment intensity to the results of molecular testing. In many countries, modern molecular techniques have already been successfully used for reliable assessment of prognosis, accurate evaluation of treatment response, and early, thus giving a greater chance to cure, detection of disease recurrence. Below you will find information about a research project aimed at the implementation of molecular methods for monitoring the treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Consent to participation in this project might contribute to further improvement of the outcome of this malignancy in our country. It is also possible that the children participating in the project might directly benefit from the results of the performed molecular analyses, which may provide additional information helpful in clinical decision making.

1. Participation in the Project

A necessary condition for the realization of the project is to obtain your permission to collect samples of blood or bone marrow from you (to a patient)/your child/children (to parents/guardians). These samples will be subjected to molecular analyses aimed at the detection of the so-called minimal residual disease, and in case of children undergoing transplantation, these will additionally be used for the assessment of the functioning of transplanted bone marrow. Our procedures require some extra sampling which will be performed in due course. Sampling will be carried out according to the following schedule:

Patients with newly diagnosed leukemia

additional 5–7 ml of bone marrow obtained during bone marrow collection for the diagnosis of leukemia

additional 5–7 ml of bone marrow obtained during bone marrow sampling for routine assessment of treatment effects on 15th and 33rd day of treatment, in 12th week of therapy and at the end of treatment

Patients subjected to transplantation

5–7 ml of blood collected once a week until 14th week after transplantation, then once a month, until the end of 18th month after transplantation

Bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells donors

molecular tests will be performed with the use of a small volume (approximately 5 ml) of material collected for transplantation, without need for additional sampling

2. Potential Risk and Inconveniences

Blood/bone marrow will be collected in low volumes, i.e., 5–7 ml (equivalent to 1–1.5 teaspoons) on the occasion of blood/bone marrow sampling for routine diagnostics or treatment monitoring. In case of sick children the blood will be collected by the so-called central venous catheter or port catheter, installed at the beginning of treatment, thus avoiding the subsequent puncture of peripheral veins.

Since the research project will be performed with the use of blood/bone marrow samples that have already been taken for routine diagnostic or treatment monitoring procedure, you/your child will not be exposed to any additional physical risk.

3. Coding of Samples

Collected samples will be marked with unique codes. These codes will be used by the research team during the storage and handling of the samples, to ensure the anonymity and personal data protection according to the Confidentiality principle (see point 7). If necessary, decodification will only be made by the principal investigator ( name ) or by a person authorized by the principal investigator.

4. Sample Storage and Further Use

Due to the enormous scientific value of the obtained blood/bone marrow samples, the unused portion of the biological material, with your permission , will be retained and secured for further research into leukemia and related diseases. This material will be deposited in: name and address of the institution; contact details of a person responsible for the repository. Any study with the use of this material will only be possible after approval by the respective Ethics Committee, whose task is to protect the rights of patients. By agreeing to preserve and share the residual material for further research, you and your children may greatly contribute to medical advances in the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia, which can bring benefits to future patients.

If you consent to the use of biological samples in future research projects, it is possible that the obtained results might potentially have an impact for your health/for the health of your relatives. Participants donating their samples for future research have the right to decide whether they want to be informed about such outcomes, depending on available options for treatment, prevention, and genetic counseling. Therefore, if you wish to be informed on such results, please provide us with your contact details (point 3 of the form ‘Informed consent of patients, parents or legal representatives’) and communicate to us via the resource person (see point 8) any changes regarding your contact details.

5. Access to Medical Record

For the purpose of this research it will be necessary for the research team to get access to medical records of the participants. Data collection and processing will be performed according to the Confidentiality principle (see point 7).

6. Voluntariness Principle

Consent to participate in the study is entirely voluntary. Each participant has the right to withdraw their consent, at any stage, without giving reasons thereof. In order to withdraw the permission, please contact the resource person (see point 8).

7. Confidentiality Principle

This ensures the confidentiality of any data obtained from the patient, i.e., the collection, storage, and analysis will be held to rules and regulations regarding the protection of personal data of patients (local legislation should be specified; safety systems according to local law should be described).

8. Resource Person

Should you need additional information regarding participation in the project or wish to withdraw your consent, please contact: name, institution, contact details of the responsible person.

……………………………………………………………………………

Name and surname of the person asking for consent

……………………………………………..

Signature of the person asking for consent

Informed Consent of Patients, Parents, or Legal Representatives

I declare that I have been informed about the objectives and the manner of implementation of the project, including procedures, to which participants are subjected, and about potential related risk, inconveniences, and benefits. I have also been informed about the possibility of retaining the remains of my biological samples for future research into leukemia and related diseases. I have read and understood ‘Information for patients, parents or legal representatives’. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and I have understood the answers.

I had been given enough time to make a decision to carry out molecular tests with the use of blood/bone marrow samples collected from me/my child and to use the remnants of biological material for further research. I understand that the confidentiality of my/my child’s personal data will be protected, and the use of residual biological material will be placed under the control of the Ethics Committee.

I am aware that the participation in this research is voluntary, and the expressed consent can be withdrawn at any time. I have received a copy of the form ‘Information for patients, parents or legal representatives’, and the copy of the form ‘Informed consent of patients, parents or legal representatives’.

I hereby give consent ( please mark YES/NO ):

for my participation/participation of my child in the above-mentioned research project

….. YES ….. NO

for the preservation of blood/bone marrow samples obtained from me/my child and their further use in future research projects (under the control of Ethics Committee)

to be informed about scientifically validated results of research with the use of my blood/bone marrow samples that might potentially influence my/my relatives’ health

….. NO….. YES in all cases….. YES, but only if preventive or curative treatment and/or genetic counseling is available

Name and surname of the patient/donor

Contact details (address, telephone) of the patient/donor

Signature of the of the patient/donor giving consent * * Signature of patient/donor required only for children over 12 years of age

Name and surname of the parent/legal representative of the participant

Signature of the parent/legal representative of the participant

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Dawidowska, M., Witt, M. (2012). Informed Consent for Participation in Research Project. In: Witt, M., Dawidowska, M., Szczepanski, T. (eds) Molecular Aspects of Hematologic Malignancies. Principles and Practice. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29467-9_29

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29467-9_29

Published : 30 June 2012

Publisher Name : Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

Print ISBN : 978-3-642-29466-2

Online ISBN : 978-3-642-29467-9

eBook Packages : Biomedical and Life Sciences Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Find a journal
Track your research

Research article
Open access
Published: 02 November 2018

Determinants of participation in voluntary work: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies

Jacobien Niebuur ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3685-051X 1 ,
Lidy van Lente 1 ,
Aart C. Liefbroer 1 , 2 , 3 ,
Nardi Steverink 4 , 5 &
Nynke Smidt 1 , 6

BMC Public Health volume 18 , Article number: 1213 ( 2018 ) Cite this article

11k Accesses

71 Citations

27 Altmetric

Metrics details

Participation in voluntary work may be associated with individual and societal benefits. Because of these benefits and as a result of challenges faced by governments related to population ageing, voluntary work becomes more important for society, and policy measures are aimed at increasing participation rates. In order to effectively identify potential volunteers, insight in the determinants of volunteering is needed. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review including meta-analyses.

A systematic search in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, Business Source Premier, and EconLit was performed on August 12th 2015. We included longitudinal cohort studies conducted in developed countries that quantified factors associated with volunteering among samples from the general adult population. Two reviewers independently selected eligible studies, extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies using the QUIPS tool. Estimates reported in the papers were transformed into Odds Ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals. For each determinant, random-effects meta-analyses were used to generate summary estimates.

We found that socioeconomic status, being married, social network size, church attendance and previous volunteer experiences are positively associated with volunteering. Age, functional limitations and transitions into parenthood were found to be inversely related to volunteering.

Conclusions

Important key factors have been identified as well as gaps in the current literature. Future research should be directed towards deepening the knowledge on the associations between the factors age, education, income, employment and participation in voluntary work. Moreover, major life course transitions should be studied in relation to volunteering.

Peer Review reports

Participation in voluntary work can have several individual and societal benefits. It is inversely related to mortality [ 1 , 2 ] depression [ 2 , 3 ] and functional limitations [ 3 ], and positively related to self-rated health [ 3 ]. In turn, improved individual health is reflected in more societal sustainability, for example in terms of health care systems [ 4 ]. Furthermore, societal benefits of volunteering include increases in social solidarity and individuals’ involvement in society [ 5 ] as well as economic benefits, for example in terms of contributions to Gross Domestic Product levels [ 6 ]. Because of the various socioeconomic benefits of volunteering and because of the current challenges faced by many developed countries related to population ageing, many policy measures are aimed nowadays at increasing participation rates in volunteering. In order to effectively target potential volunteers and to utilize the benefits related to volunteering, there is a need to understand the key factors related to participation in voluntary work. One important set of key factors are socio-demographic characteristics. By socio-demographic characteristics we mean characteristics that signify an individual’s position in society. This includes indicators of an individual’s position in the family domain (such as partner status and social network integration), the economic domain (such as education and income) and in the health domain (such as wellbeing). All these socio-demographic characteristics are examples of factors for which an association with volunteering is expected. Our research questions are:

What are the determinants (e.g. socio-demographic characteristics) of participation in voluntary work?

What is the magnitude and direction of the relationship between identified determinants (e.g. socio-demographic characteristics) and participation in voluntary work?

Voluntary work is defined as “unpaid non-compulsory work; that is, time individuals give without pay to activities performed either through an organization or directly for others outside their own household” [ 5 ]. Research on factors influencing participation in voluntary work is extensive. However, there is large heterogeneity in the determinants measured as well as in the findings. Inconsistencies in findings may result from, among other factors, the use of incomparable study samples, the use of different study designs and the omission of important confounders in analyses. By conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, sources of heterogeneity in the findings can be further explored and reliable key factors influencing participation in voluntary work can be identified.

Although earlier systematic reviews on determinants of participation in voluntary work provide important contributions to the knowledge on factors related to volunteering, most of them focussed on study samples consisting exclusively of volunteers recruited at voluntary organizations [ 7 , 8 ], older people, [ 7 ] or volunteers working for a specific cause (i.e. volunteering in the care of people with mental illnesses) [ 8 ]. Moreover, both reviews included studies using diverse study designs (both quantitative as well as qualitative), and findings were not quantified [ 7 , 8 ]. Wilson [ 9 ] provided an overview of theories explaining volunteerism and described several well-known determinants of volunteering, including level of education (positive association), age (curvilinear relationship), gender (in North-America, women are more likely to volunteer than men), marital status (married people are more likely to volunteer than non-married people) and health status (positive relationship). As the overview is based on literature published up until the year 2000, the findings did not result from conducting a review following a systematic approach, and associations were not quantified by conducting meta-analyses, there is need for updating the knowledge on the determinants of participation in voluntary work. Our aim was to improve the current knowledge by conducting a systematic review including a meta-analysis. Thereby, we aimed at summarizing the available evidence on the determinants of participation in voluntary work and determining the magnitude and direction of the relationship between identified determinants and participation in voluntary work.

This systematic review was conducted according to the methods of the Cochrane Collaboration [ 10 ] and reported according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines [ 11 ].

Search strategy and study selection

A search was conducted in MEDLINE, PsychINFO, SocINDEX, Business Source Premier and EconLit, on August 12th, 2015. The search strategy included a combination of terms related to (a) participation in voluntary work (e.g. voluntary work, volunteers, unpaid work) and (b) determinants (e.g. determinant, factor, association, relation, reason) (see Appendix 1 ).

Articles were selected if they are (a) peer-reviewed full text publications reporting an association between at least one individual factor (contextual factors are beyond the scope of this study) and participation in formal voluntary work (i.e. voluntary work carried out for organizations [ 12 ]) (yes/no) in a quantitative way using a longitudinal prospective cohort study design (i.e. studies in which the determinant is measured at a moment in time before the outcome was measured), and (b) making use of a study sample consisting of adults aged 18 and over from a general population from a developed country (i.e. Japan and countries in Europe, North America and Oceania). Moreover, (c) the article has to be published in English, French, German or Dutch within the time period 2010–2015. Given the large number of publications on the topic, we decided to focus on recent publications from 2010 onwards. Articles exclusively including informal volunteering as the outcome were excluded. In case it is unclear whether volunteering was formal or informal, articles were included and labelled as ‘mixed type of voluntary work’. Finally, articles focusing on very specific cases of volunteering such as disaster volunteering, corporate volunteering and volunteer-tourism were excluded as well, because of their limited comparability with volunteering in the general population, but also because the motives to participate in these kinds of voluntary work may differ from situation to situation. We focus on longitudinal rather than on cross-sectional studies, as the former offer better opportunities for temporal ordering of factors.

The titles and abstracts of all identified records were screened for eligibility by two reviewers (J.N. and L.v.L.) independently. Subsequently, the same two reviewers independently screened the full-text of all potentially eligible articles. Finally, all references of included articles were screened by one reviewer (J.N.) for potentially eligible articles.

Data extraction and assessment of risk of bias

Two reviewers (J.N. and L.v.L.) independently extracted the data regarding the characteristics of the study sample (country, mean age, % female, inclusion criteria), the year of baseline measurement, study duration, determinant measurement, outcome measurement, sample size, volunteering at baseline (%), volunteering at follow-up (%), and the results (association between the determinant(s) and the outcome). The same two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias of the included articles by using the QUIPS (Quality In Prognosis Studies) tool [ 13 ]. The following domains were assessed as potential sources for risk of bias: study participation, study attrition, measurement of the determinants and the outcome, study confounding and statistical analysis and reporting (see Appendix 2 ). Overall disagreement was evaluated and expressed as percentage of agreement and kappa statistics [ 14 ]. In a consensus meeting disagreements were discussed and resolved. If consensus could not be reached, a third reviewer (N.Sm.) made the final decision.

Statistical analysis

In case the results of at least two studies are available, meta-analyses were conducted, using the statistical program Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (3rd version). If studies present several models, estimates from the most complete (fully adjusted) model were used. Odds Ratios (ORs) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) were used, or if needed calculated using the supplemental material of Kuiper et al. [ 15 ], to conduct meta-analyses. When insufficient information was available for transforming effect sizes to ORs with 95% CIs, study authors were contacted to obtain the missing information.

In case articles used the same study sample, a-priori defined criteria were used to select the study for the meta-analysis. In order of importance and for each determinant separately, articles were selected based on (a) outcome used in the study (‘formal voluntary work’ was preferred above ‘mixed type of voluntary work’), (b) measurement of the determinant (the determinant measurement was most comparable to other included studies), (c) study sample (the study sample that was the most comparable to the study samples of included studies in the meta-analysis, in terms of the proportion of volunteers at baseline, the age range of participants at baseline, and inclusion criteria for the baseline study sample), (d) sample size (the study with the largest sample size was preferred over smaller studies), and (e) number of determinants quantitatively measured in the study. In case articles presented both a static (e.g. being married) as well as a change score (e.g. transition into marriage) for a certain determinant, the score that is most comparable to the scores used in other included studies for this determinant was used. A random effect method was applied to calculate pooled effect sizes [ 10 ].

Meta-regression and subgroup analyses

Heterogeneity between studies was assessed by using the Index of Inconsistency ( I 2 ) [ 16 ]. In case of substantial heterogeneity ( I 2 > 50%), sources of heterogeneity between studies were explored by conducting either subgroup analysis (in case < 10 studies are available) or univariable random-effects meta-regression [ 10 ] (in case ≥10 studies are available) with regard to the following a-priori defined criteria: (a) outcome measurement (formal voluntary work versus mixed measure); (b) determinant measurement, based on (b1) measurement scale (continuous versus dichotomous scores), (b2) type of measurement (static versus change scores, because the presence of a certain event, (e.g. being married), may have a different association with the outcome than the transition into a certain event (e.g. transition into marriage)), and (b3) conceptual differences in the measurement of the determinant; (c) proportion of volunteers in the baseline study sample; (d) mean age at baseline, because some determinants may be important to a different extent for study samples for which participation in paid work is more or less common; (e) continent in which the study was performed (United States of America (USA), Europe, other), because differences in government regimes and culture may influence the association between a certain determinant and the outcome; (f) year of baseline measurement, because although the included studies were published between 2010 and 2015, the baseline measurement year varies substantially and determinants of participation in voluntary work may differ for different birth cohorts; (g) duration of follow-up (for time-variant variables only); and (h) the risk of bias for each methodological quality domain separately (low risk of bias versus high/unclear risk of bias).

Publication bias

The likelihood of publication bias was assessed graphically by constructing funnel plots for each determinant (in case at least ten studies were available) using the statistical program Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (3rd version). Asymmetry of the funnel plots was tested using Egger’s method. Publication bias is likely if p < 0.10 [ 17 ].

The search resulted in the identification of 13.225 records after removing duplicates. A total of 3774 records were published in 2010 or later. The selection process is presented in Fig. 1 . Finally, 24 articles were included in the systematic review [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Characteristics of the included articles are provided in Table 1 . In Appendix 3 an overview of all determinants measured in included studies is provided.

Flow Diagram representing the selection process of articles

Several articles were based on the same study samples. Four articles were based on data from the Survey of Midlife Development in the United States [ 22 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. Another four articles were based on data of the Health and Retirement Study [ 24 , 25 , 30 , 31 ]. Two articles used data from the Jena Study on Social Change and Human Development [ 35 , 36 ]. Moreover, two articles used data from the Switzerland Household Panel [ 40 , 41 ]. Finally, two articles were based on the American Changing Lives survey [ 28 , 33 ].

Likelihood of risk of bias

The results of the risk of bias assessment of included studies are presented in Table 2 .

The risk of bias varied substantially. Most methodological flaws (i.e. high risk of bias) were found for (2a) adequate follow-up rate (62.5% high risk of bias), and (1b) adequate participation rate (29.2% high risk of bias). The inter-rater agreement was good (agreement 91.7% (484/528); kappa statistic: 0.78) [ 14 ].

Determinants of participation in voluntary work

Meta-analyses were conducted for a total of 20 determinants (see Appendix 4 ). For each determinant, all studies reporting an association between the determinant and the outcome are listed in the appendix, as well as the studies selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis.

Demographic factors

The following demographic factors are studied in relationship to participation in voluntary work: age, gender, ethnicity, marital status and parental status. Forest plots for all demographic factors are presented in multi panel Fig. 2 below.

Forest plots for demographic factors

The mean age at baseline of the studies included in the meta-analysis varied from 42.8 years (range 25 to 74 years) [ 39 ] to 77.5 years (range 70 to 101 years) [ 23 ]. The results of the meta-analysis are heterogeneous (see Fig. 2a ). Six studies [ 11 , 21 , 24 , 26 , 30 , 36 ] (out of eleven) found that older people are less likely to volunteer, no associations in the opposite direction were found. Sources of heterogeneity were explored by conducting meta-regression analyses and subgroup analyses (see Table 3 ).

The meta-regression shows that differences in the proportion of volunteers in the baseline sample affect the association between age and participation in voluntary work. The negative coefficient from the meta-regression (− 0.8053, p = 0.000) shows that the inverse association between age and the likelihood to volunteer is stronger in the non-volunteer sample than in the subgroup of samples in which the proportion of volunteers lies between 0 and 100%. Therefore, the results indicate that the likelihood to participate in voluntary work declines with age, and that especially the likelihood to take-up voluntary work (for individuals not volunteering at baseline) strongly decreases with age.

Gender (female)

Two studies (out of eleven) included in the meta-analysis did not report the percentage of females in the baseline study sample [ 21 , 27 ]. The percentage of females in the baseline study samples of the other included studies ranged from 44.6% [ 32 ] to 71.0% [ 33 ] (heterogeneous results; see Fig. 2b ).

The results of the meta-regression (Table 4 ) showed that differences in the continent (Europe versus USA) of the study sample explain heterogeneity in the association between gender and participation in voluntary work.

The negative coefficient (− 0.3531; p = 0.002) from the meta-regression for Europe (USA as reference group) shows that the likelihood of females (as opposed to males) to participate in voluntary work is higher in the USA than in Europe. In the studies conducted in the USA [ 18 , 24 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 39 ], a positive association between being female and participation in voluntary work was found (OR: 1.279; 95% CI: 1.120–1.460; results are heterogeneous ( I 2 = 52%)). In the studies conducted in Europe [ 21 , 23 , 27 , 35 , 41 ], no association between gender and participation in voluntary work was found (OR: 0.906; 95% CI: 0.770–1.067; results are heterogeneous ( I 2 = 77%)). Having a closer look at the subgroups of studies conducted in the USA and in Europe shows that (a) in Europe no consistent association between gender and participation in voluntary work was found (both positive as well as negative associations between gender and participation in voluntary work were found) whereas (b) in the subgroup of studies conducted in the USA, all odds ratios for the association between being female and participation in voluntary work are greater than one, indicating a greater likelihood of females (as opposed to males) to participate in voluntary work.

Ethnicity (white)

The results of the studies investigating the association between ethnicity and participation in voluntary work are heterogeneous and inconsistent (see Fig. 2c ).

Heterogeneity could be explained by conducting subgroup analyses for differences in (a) year of baseline measurement (no association for the studies with a baseline measurement after 2005 [ 23 , 29 ] (OR: 1.743; 95% CI: 0.308–9.877) and (b) the risk of bias for the domain study participation (no association for the studies with low risk of bias [ 18 , 39 ] (OR: 1.101; 95% CI: 0.929–1.034). Forest plots are available upon request.

Marital status (married/partnered)

The results of the meta-analysis for marital status are heterogeneous and inconsistent (see Fig. 2d ).

Sources of heterogeneity were explored by conducting meta-regression and subgroup analyses (see Table 5 ).

The results of the meta-regression show that differences in (a) mean age at baseline and (b) the risk of bias for the domains study participation and study confounding affect the association between marital status and participation in voluntary work.

Firstly, the pooled estimate of the subgroup of the eight studies [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 28 , 29 , 35 , 39 , 40 ] for which information on the mean age at baseline is available, shows that married people are more likely to participate in voluntary work than unmarried people (OR: 1.147; 95% CI: 1.001–1.315; results are homogenous ( I 2 = 35%)). The negative coefficient (− 0.0008; p = 0.030) from the meta-regression shows that the positive association between being married and participation in voluntary work declines with age; i.e. being married as a determinant of participation in voluntary work declines in importance with age.

Secondly, the positive coefficients from the meta-regression for the risk of bias domains study participation (0.3106; p = 0.047) and study confounding (0.2803; p = 0.012) show that the association between being married and participation in voluntary work is stronger in studies with low risk of bias on these domains than for the studies with unclear/high risk of bias.

Although we did not find an overall association between marital status and participation in voluntary work, several subgroups of studies point towards a positive association between being married/partnered and the likelihood to volunteer. The meta-regression shows that as age increases, the association between being married/partnered and the likelihood to participate in voluntary work gets less strong. Our findings are in line with earlier research, showing that being married is positively associated to participation in voluntary work; but associations between marital status and volunteering after retirement are inconsistent [ 9 ].

Parental status

The results of the studies investigating the association between parental status and participation in voluntary work are heterogeneous (see Fig. 2e ). Heterogeneity could not be explained by conducting subgroup analyses. Three studies [ 19 , 28 , 40 ] (out of five) found a positive association between having children and participation in voluntary work and no negative associations were found. Although no firm conclusion can be drawn from these results, the results seem to indicate that parents with children in their household are more likely to volunteer.

Two articles [ 32 , 40 ] reported estimates for the association between a transition into parenthood and participation in voluntary work. The pooled estimate of these two studies shows that individuals who recently had a child were less likely to participate in voluntary work than individuals who did not experience the birth of a child in the household recently (OR: 0.617; 95% CI: 0.487 to 0.781) (see Fig. 2f ).

Socioeconomic status

Two factors related to socioeconomic status are studied in relationship to participation in voluntary work. Meta-analyses were conducted for educational attainment as well as income. The forest plots are presented in multi panel Fig. 3 below.

Forest plots for socioeconomic factors

Educational attainment

The results of the meta-analysis for educational attainment are heterogeneous (see Fig. 3a ). Seven studies [ 18 , 21 , 24 , 27 , 32 , 34 , 39 ] (out of thirteen) found that higher educated individuals are more likely to participate in voluntary work, no associations in the opposite direction were found. Sources of heterogeneity were explored by conducting meta-regression and subgroup analyses (see Table 6 ).

Results show that the association between educational attainment and the likelihood to volunteer is stronger in (a) samples consisting of non-volunteers (compared to samples consisting of both volunteers and non-volunteers) (0.3080; p = 0.005), (b) the study conducted in Australia (compared to studies from the USA) (0.2164; p = 0.039) and (c) studies with low risk of bias on the domain study participation (compared to studies with high/unclear risk of bias) (0.1620; p = 0.034).

Although the results for the subgroups were heterogeneous, the pooled estimate of most studies point towards a positive association between educational attainment and participation in voluntary work. No contradictory results are found. Therefore, the results indicate that it is likely that there is a positive association between educational attainment and the likelihood to volunteer and this positive association seems to be especially strong for volunteer take-up.

The meta-analysis for income gives heterogeneous results (see Fig. 3b ). Two studies [ 24 , 28 ] (out of six) found a positive association between income and participation in voluntary work, no associations in the opposite direction were found.

Subgroup analyses show that people with a higher income are more likely to participate in voluntary work if they are 55 years or older at baseline ((OR: 1.185; 95% CI: 1.106 to 1.270) [ 24 , 35 ] or if they are living in the USA (OR: 1.121, 95% CI: 1.037 to 1.211) [ 24 , 28 , 29 , 39 ]. For the studies with a low risk of bias on the domain study confounding (OR: 1.184; 95% CI: 1.109 to 1.265) [ 24 , 29 , 35 , 39 ] this positive association between income level and the likelihood to participate in voluntary work was confirmed. No association between income and participation in voluntary work was found in the other subgroups with homogeneous results. Forest plots are available upon request.

Participation in productive activities

Two factors related to participation in productive activities are studied in relationship to participation in voluntary work. Meta-analyses were conducted for participation in voluntary work at baseline and for employment status. The forest plots are presented in multi panel Fig. 4 below.

Forest plots for participation in productive activities

Volunteering at baseline

Results for the meta-analysis are heterogeneous (see Fig. 4a ) and heterogeneity could not be explained by subgroup analyses. However, the estimates of the included studies clearly show that volunteering at baseline is positively associated to participation at follow-up; all included studies found a positive association between volunteering at baseline and volunteering at follow-up. No firm conclusion can be drawn about the magnitude of the effect.

Employment status

Results from the meta-analysis for employment status are homogeneous (see Fig. 4b ). The pooled estimate shows no association between employment status and participation in voluntary work (OR: 0.880; 95% CI: 0.773 to 1.001); however, the p -value of 0.053 shows that the association is boundary significant.

Health status

Five factors related to individual health status are studied in relationship to participation in voluntary work. Separate meta-analyses were conducted for overall self-rated health, (increase in) functional limitations, physical health, mental health and cognitive health. Forest plots for all factors related to individual health status are presented in multi panel Fig. 5 below.

Forest plots for health status

Overall self-rated health

The meta-analysis for overall self-rated health shows that results are heterogeneous (see Fig. 5a ).

Heterogeneity between the results of the included studies could be explained by differences in (a) participation in voluntary work (%) at baseline, (b) continent of the study sample and (c) duration of follow-up. The pooled estimate of the two studies [ 24 , 39 ] with a baseline participation rate between 0% and 100%, a long duration of follow-up (≥ 8 years) and that are conducted in the USA shows that people with a better overall self-rated health are more likely to participate in voluntary work (OR: 1.192; 95% CI: 1.137 to 1.249). Forest plots are available on request.

Functional limitations

Three large studies [ 21 , 24 , 28 ] found a strong negative association between functional limitations and the likelihood to participate in voluntary work, one small study [ 18 ] did not find an association. Although the results are heterogeneous, the results clearly indicate that the degree of functional limitations is inversely associated with participation in voluntary work (see Fig. 5b ).

The pooled estimates of the two studies [ 18 , 28 ] for which the mean age at baseline was 55 years or below (OR: 0.740, 95% CI: 0.636 to 0.860), the three studies [ 18 , 24 , 28 ] conducted in the USA (OR: 0.782; 95% CI: 0.705 to 0.869), and the two studies [ 24 , 28 ] with a long duration of follow-up (≥ 8 years) (OR: 0.781; 95% CI: 0.695 to 0.877) consistently show that individuals with more functional limitations are less likely to participate in voluntary work. Forest plots are available on request.

Two studies [ 18 , 21 ] reported an estimate for the association between an increase in the degree of limitations in functional health and participation in voluntary work (see Fig. 5c ). The pooled estimate of these two studies shows that increases in functional limitations are associated with a lower likelihood to participate in voluntary work (OR: 0.922; 95% CI: 0.887 to 0.959).

Physical health

The results for the association between physical health and participation in voluntary work are heterogeneous (see Fig. 5d ).

Pooling the estimates of the studies with formal volunteering as the outcome (as opposed to the mixed type of volunteering) and the estimates of the studies with low risk of bias on the domain study confounding leaves us with the same subgroup of two studies [ 23 , 24 ]. No association between physical health and participation in voluntary work was found (OR: 1.013; 95% CI: 0.985 to 1.041) (forest plot is available on request).

Mental health and cognitive health

For both mental health and cognitive health, the results for the association with participation in voluntary work are heterogeneous (see Fig. 5e and f ). Heterogeneity could not be explained by conducting subgroup analyses.

Social relationships

The social network size and frequency of contacts are studied in relationship to participation in voluntary work. Separate meta-analyses are conducted for both factors and the forest plots are presented in multi panel Fig. 6 below.

Forest plots for social relationships

Social network size

The pooled estimate shows that individuals with a larger personal social network are more likely to participate in voluntary work (OR: 1.030; 95% CI: 1.030 to 1.030) (see Fig. 6a ).

Frequency of contacts

The results are heterogeneous and inconsistent (see Fig. 6b ). Because of the large variety in the measures for frequency of social contacts used in the included studies, we did not conduct subgroup analyses to explore heterogeneity.

Two factors related to religion are studied in relationship to participation in voluntary work. Meta-analyses were conducted for church attendance and religious identification. Forest plots are presented in multi panel Fig. 7 below.

Forest plots for religion

Church attendance

The results for the association between church attendance and participation in voluntary work are heterogeneous (see Fig. 7a ). Heterogeneity could not be explained by conducting subgroup analyses. However, all studies showed a positive association between church attendance and participation in voluntary work showing that church attendance and the likelihood to volunteer are positively associated. No firm conclusions can be drawn about the magnitude of the association.

Religious identification

The pooled estimate showed a small positive association between the level of religious identification and participation in voluntary work (OR: 1.092; 95% CI: 1.000 to 1.193) (see Fig. 7b ).

Other factors

Two other factors are studied in relationship to participation in voluntary work. Results for the association between the frequency of attending meetings of groups, clubs and organizations (i.e. passive membership) and participation in voluntary work (i.e. active membership) are heterogeneous and inconclusive. The meta-analysis for driving status shows that people who are able to drive are more likely to participate in voluntary work. However, as the results are heterogeneous, no conclusions about the magnitude of the associations can be drawn. The forest plots are available upon request of the first author.

Publication Bias

Publication bias was assessed for the following determinants: age, gender, marital status and educational attainment. Eggers’ test and visual inspection of the funnel plots indicate that publication bias is likely for the determinants age (Egger’s test: age ( p = 0.007) and marital status ( p = 0.074)). The funnel plots are available upon request.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at identifying the contemporary determinants of participation in voluntary work. Based on the studies included in our review, we found that females (in the USA), married people and people with children (weak evidence), individuals with higher education (weak evidence) or income (especially for those individuals aged 55 and over, living in the USA and for studies in which age was taken into account as a confounder) and people who either volunteered at baseline, have a larger social network, those who are more religious and those who attend church more frequently are more likely to volunteer. In contrast, older people (weak evidence), individuals who recently had a child and individuals with a higher degree of functional limitations or increases in functional limitations are less likely to participate in voluntary work. No association with participation in voluntary work was found for employment status. There was insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions about the association between participation in voluntary work and gender outside the USA, ethnicity, the frequency of contacts and several health related variables (overall self-rated health, cognitive health and physical health) (inconclusive results).

Many of our findings are in line with what we expected based on previous literature. First, we found that older people are less likely to volunteer. Age is believed to be related to volunteering in a curvilinear way with a peak in middle-age [ 9 ]. The studies included in our meta-analysis for age all have a mean age around middle-age or above. The mean age at baseline among the studies included in this meta-analysis varies from 42.8 years (range 25 to 74 years) [ 39 ] to 77.5 years (range 70 to 101 years) [ 23 ] and adults aged below 40 years are underrepresented in this pool of studies. Therefore, our finding that age is inversely related to participation in voluntary work confirms previous findings that showed that the likelihood to volunteer declines with age from middle-age onwards. We could not assess the association between age and volunteering before middle-age because of the inclusion of middle-aged and older adults in the studies in this meta-analysis only.

Secondly, we found no association between gender and participation in voluntary work, but we did find a positive association between being female in the USA and participation in voluntary work. Thirdly, we found that irrespective of age, married people are more likely to participate in voluntary work than unmarried people, and that this association becomes weaker with age. Besides, our analyses confirmed the importance of education and previous volunteer experiences in predicting the likelihood to volunteer. Finally, our results show that individual health status itself is not associated to participation in voluntary work, but the degree to which the individual experiences limitation in his or her functioning is. Not only the level of functional limitations was shown to be inversely associated with participation in voluntary work, also for increases in functional limitations a strong negative association with volunteering was found.

Our systematic review shows that a large number of individual factors are related to volunteering across studies and countries. Although a discussion of the theoretical links between these factors and volunteering is beyond the scope of this review, it is important to stress that many of the associations established in our meta-analysis fit into existing theoretical approaches to volunteering. For instance, Wilson and Musick (1997) in their ‘integrated theory of volunteering’ suggested that volunteering is affected by three types of capital or resources that individuals may have available: human, social and cultural resources. Many of the individual factors that were found to be associated with volunteering in our review can be clearly linked to these three types of resources. Factors like income, educational attainment and functional limitations can be viewed as indicators of the amount of human resources that individuals have available. Factors like marital status and network size constitute indicators of social resources. Finally, a factor like religiosity can be viewed as an indicator of cultural capital or resources that predispose individuals to volunteering.

Strengths and limitations

This review was conducted according to the latest standards for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. This is the first review for which findings can be generalized to the general adult population in developed countries and for which associations between identified factors and participation in voluntary work were quantified by conducting meta-analyses. We transformed all estimates into ORs in order to compare the results of included studies. A thorough overview of all determinants of volunteering studied in recent publications is provided (i.e. demographic determinants, as well as determinants related to socioeconomic status, participation in other productive activities, health status, religion and social relationships), instead of focusing on a single determinant only (e.g. health status or socioeconomic status). Updating the current state of knowledge on factors related to volunteering was important, as the research on volunteering has taken a giant leap recently. Results from our search strategy showed that compared to a decade ago, publications on factors related to volunteering have more than doubled (our search resulted in 1620 hits for the period 2000–2005 compared to 3774 hits for the period 2010–2015).

Some limitations must be mentioned as well. We limited the inclusion of studies to those published in the period 2010–2015. The choice for including this quite narrow time period was made for two main reasons. Firstly, because participation in voluntary work is related not only to individual characteristics but also to macro factors such as the demographic composition of populations, economic circumstances and government regimes, we argue that taking into account the most recent time period is the most relevant period to study in order to increase our knowledge on contemporary determinants of volunteering and provide insight in the characteristics of potential volunteers nowadays. Secondly, in trying to find a good balance between recency and efficiency, we chose to develop a rather broad search strategy without specifying any determinants beforehand, in order to provide the most comprehensive overview of all determinants studied in relation to volunteering. We cannot be sure whether our results would have been different if all studies irrespective of the date of publication were to be included. Probably the results for the factors studied in this review would be more heterogeneous due to cohort effects and probably some additional factors studied in earlier publications may have been identified. Moreover, although the studies included in this review were all published recently, the vast majority (79%) of the included studies used data with baseline measurements before the year 2005. Potentially, the results would have been different if we would have limited the inclusion of studies to those using recent data. Our search was conducted in August 2015 and several relevant articles have been published afterwards [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. The results of this articles are in line with the results included in this systematic review and meta-analysis, showing for example that individuals in worse mental health are less likely to participate in voluntary work [ 42 ], religiosity in adulthood is positively associated to volunteering [ 43 ], and that previous volunteer experiences, good health and higher education are positively associated to volunteering [ 44 ]. Moreover, two studies investigated the association between providing care to grandchildren and volunteering [ 45 , 46 ] but with opposite results. Therefore, it seems unlikely that including studies published after August 2015 would alter the conclusions drawn in the current study. Moreover, the inclusion of studies was limited to studies written in English, Dutch, French or German. The inclusion of only English, Dutch, French and German language studies may have led to missing some studies, however there is little evidence that exclusion of non-English-language studies leads to systematic bias in systematic reviews [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ].

Visual inspection of the forest plots and Egger’s test have shown the presence of funnel plot asymmetry for the studies investigating the factors age and marital status in relation to the likelihood to volunteer. Therefore, these results should be interpreted with caution, as the reported effect sizes might be an overestimation of the true effect due to publication bias. However, using Egger’s approach could lead to false-positive results in the case of dichotomous outcomes [ 10 ]. However, we do not consider publication bias to be very likely. The majority of the included studies took age and marital status into account as control variables and their main interest was often directed towards the association between other factors and volunteering. Therefore, we do not expect publication bias to be a substantial problem for the results presented in this review. Funnel plot asymmetry can be caused not only by publication bias, but low methodological quality could also lead to the inflation of effects in smaller studies [ 10 ]. The latter could play a role. The majority of the studies included in this review did not provide information on the characteristics of respondents compared to participants lost to follow-up and differences between these groups could have contributed to funnel plot asymmetry.

Recommendations for further research

The studies included in this review were very heterogeneous in terms of the methodological quality and study population. Results were also heterogeneous and, unfortunately, heterogeneity could often not be properly explained. The risk of bias assessment of the included studies has pointed out the presence of reporting flaws in included studies. Although attrition was in general high in the included studies, the majority of the studies (79.2%) did not report information regarding potential differences between participants and drop-outs, therefore insufficient information is available to assess the likelihood of attrition bias in included studies. Moreover, more than half of the studies (54.2%) did not report information on the participation rate at baseline. These are important reporting flaws, because selectivity in the study sample could have a major influence on the findings. Finally, half of the studies (50.0%) did not report information on how missing data was dealt with. For correct interpretation of the findings, it is important to know whether and how data has been imputed. In future research, more attention should be directed towards the quality of reporting as recommended in the STROBE guidelines (39).

The focus of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the individual determinants of volunteering. Other determinants play a role as well in predicting volunteering. Contextual factors, for example, are important determinants of volunteering too [ 51 ]. Anheier & Salomon [ 52 ] (page 43) described that volunteering is determined by the way how societies are organized, how they allocate social responsibilities, and how much engagement and participation they expect from citizens. The heterogeneity between the results of the included studies could also be attributable to contextual differences between countries or cultures. Therefore, in future cross-national research on individual determinants of volunteering, it would be interesting to take into account cultural and country specific aspects. Moreover, our review showed that most studies are concentrated in the USA and selected European countries. It would be important for future research to diversify studies in terms of geographical spread. Our review has provided evidence for the association between several factors (e.g. socioeconomic status, marital status, parental status, functional health, previous volunteering, social network size and religion) and participation in voluntary work. In future research on determinants of participation in voluntary work, these factors should thus be taken into account as potential confounders in the analyses. This review has identified several gaps in the literature as well. Firstly, (weak) evidence was found for the negative association between age and volunteering from middle-age onwards. Studies including adults below middle-age were substantially underrepresented in this review. Therefore, more research should be done to examine the determinants of participation in voluntary work among younger adults and more specific, on the association between age and volunteering in younger age groups.

Secondly, more research is needed on the association between socioeconomic status and volunteering. Socioeconomic status seems to be related to the likelihood to volunteer; weak evidence for the association between education and volunteering was found and, although the overall result for the association between income and volunteering was inconclusive, for specific groups of individuals (aged 55 and over and those living in the USA) we did find a positive association. Another related factor is employment status. We did not find an association between employment status and volunteering but the pooled estimate was boundary significant and indicates the presence of a possible negative association between employment status and the likelihood to volunteer. Studies assessing the association of participation in voluntary work with employment status, level of income and education were very heterogeneous with respect to the confounders they took into account. Further research should investigate the association between these factors and participation in voluntary work, taking both educational attainment, employment status and income level into account as not only these factors themselves but also the interplay between these factors may be important in predicting participation in voluntary work.

Thirdly, this review has shown the importance of two types of life course transitions in predicting the likelihood to volunteer. For both increases in the degree to which an individual is functionally limited as well as the recent birth of a child in the household, a strong negative association with participation in voluntary work was found. Regarding parenthood, the recent birth of a child is negatively associated to volunteering whereas the presence of children in the household in general seems to be positively associated to volunteering, which shows the importance of disentangling these factors. Despite the evident importance of life course transitions in predicting the likelihood to volunteer, the majority of studies included in this review did not take them into account. In future research, the effect of major life course transition with respect to family life (for example changes in household composition, partnership status and health of family members), work (for example starting a career after graduation, transitions into and out of unemployment, changes in working hours and retirement) and health should be taken into account.

New research in the field of volunteering should aim at filling the gaps mentioned above, because volunteering is an increasingly important activity for developed societies facing aging populations. Therefore, it is important to know for policy makers which characteristics are related to volunteering in order to identify potential volunteers.

In the current study, important key factors have been identified. The results of this study show that socioeconomic status, being married, social network size, church attendance and previous volunteer experiences are positively associated with volunteering and that age, functional limitations and transitions into parenthood were found to be inversely related to volunteering. A need exists for studies directed towards deepening the knowledge on the associations several between the factors and participation in voluntary work, among which are age, education, income and employment. Moreover, major life course transitions should be studied in relation to volunteering.

Abbreviations

Confidence Intervals

Odds Ratios

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Quality In Prognosis Studies

United States of America

Okun MA, Yeung EW, Brown S. Volunteering by older adults and risk of mortality: a meta-analysis. Psychol Aging. 2013;28:564–77 Available from: http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/a0031519 .

Article Google Scholar

Jenkinson CE, Dickens AP, Jones K, Thompson-Coon J, Taylor RS, Rogers M, et al. Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:773 Available from: http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-13-773 .

Anderson ND, Damianakis T, Kröger E, Wagner LM, Dawson DR, Binns MA, et al. The benefits associated with volunteering among seniors: A critical review and recommendations for future research. Psychol Bull. 2014;140:1505–33 Available from: http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/a0037610 .

Galenkamp H, Deeg DJH. Increasing social participation of older people: are there different barriers for those in poor health? Introduction to the special section. Eur J Ageing Springer Netherlands. 2016;13:87–90.

International Labour Office Geneva. Manual on the measurement of volunteer work. Geneva: International Labour Office (ILO); 2011. p. 1-120. ISBN 978-92-2-125071-5. www.ilo.org/publnsI .

Salamon LM, Sokolowski SW, Megan A, Tice HS. The state of global civil society and volunteering: latest findings from the implementation of the UN nonprofit handbook, Work Pap John Hopkins Comp Nonprofit Sect Proj, vol. 49; 2013. p. 18.

Godbout E, Filiatrault J, Plante M. La participation des aînés à des activités de bénévolat : Une revue systématique. Can J Occup Ther [Internet]. 2012;79:23–32 Available from: http://cjo.sagepub.com/lookup/doi/10.2182/cjot.2012.79.1.4 .

Hallett C, Klug LC. Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry. 2012;12.

Wilson J. Volunteering. Ann Rev Sociol. 2000;26:215–40.

Higgins JP Green S. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. 2011.

Google Scholar

Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG. Academia and clinic annals of internal medicine preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Annu Intern Med. 2009;151:264–9.

Wilson J, Musick M. Who Cares? Toward an Integrated Theory of Volunteer Work. Am Sociol Rev. 1997;62(5):694–713.

Hayden JA, Van Der Windt DA, Cartwright JL, Côté P. Research and reporting methods annals of internal medicine assessing Bias in studies of prognostic factors. Ann Intern Med. 2013;144:427–37.

Altman DG. Practical statistics for medical research. London: Chapman and Hall; 1991.

Kuiper JS, Zuidersma M, Zuidema SU, Burgerhof JGM, Stolk RP, Oude Voshaar RC, et al. Social relationships and cognitive decline: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies. Int J Epidemiol. 2016; dyw089. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/ije/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ije/dyw089 .

Higgins JPT, Thompson SG, Deeks JJ, Altman DG. Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses. BMJ Br Med J. 2003;327:557–60.

Stuck AE, Rubenstein LZ, Wieland D, Vandenbroucke JP, Irwig L, Macaskill P, et al. Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical. Bmj. 1998;316:469–469. Available from: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.316.7129.469

Article CAS Google Scholar

Ajrouch KJ, Antonucci TC, Webster NJ. Volunteerism: social network dynamics and education. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016;71:309–19.

Bartels KP, Cozzi G, Mantovan N. "The Big Society," Public Expenditure, and Volunteering. Public Adm Rev. 2013;73(2);340-51.

Bekkers R. Trust and volunteering: selection or causation? Evidence from a 4 year panel study. Polit Behav. 2012;34:225–47.

Broese Van Groenou M, Van Tilburg T. Six-year follow-up on volunteering in later life: a cohort comparison in the Netherlands. Eur Sociol Rev. 2012;28:1–11.

Choi NG, Chou RJ-A. Time and money volunteering among older adults: the relationship between past and current volunteering and correlates of change and stability. Ageing Soc. 2010;30:559–81 Available from: http://www.journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0144686X0999064X .

Cramm JM, Nieboer AP. Background characteristics, resources and volunteering among older adults (aged ≥70 years) in the community: a longitudinal study. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2015;15:1087–95.

Curl AL, Stowe JD, Cooney TM, Proulx CM. Giving up the keys: how driving cessation affects engagement in later life. Gerontologist. 2014;54:423–33.

Curl AL, Proulx CM, Stowe JD, Cooney TM. Productive and social engagement following driving cessation. Res Aging. 2015;37:171–99 Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0164027514527624 .

Einolf CJ, Philbrick D. Generous or greedy marriage? A longitudinal study of volunteering and charitable giving. J Marriage Fam. 2014;76:573–86.

Hank K, Erlinghagen M. Dynamics of volunteering in older Europeans. Gerontologist. 2010;50:170–8.

Johnston JB. Religion and volunteering over the adult life course. J Sci Study Relig. 2013;52:733–52.

Lim C, MacGregor CA. Religion and volunteering in context. Am Sociol Rev. 2012;77:747–79 Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122412457875 .

McNamara TK, Gonzales E. Volunteer transitions among older adults: the role of human, social, and cultural capital in later life. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2011;66 B:490–501.

Mike A, Jackson JJ, Oltmanns TF. The conscientious retiree: The relationship between conscientiousness, retirement, and volunteering. J Res Pers. 2014;52:68–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2014.07.002 Elsevier Inc. Available from:.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Nesbit R. The influence of major life cycle events on volunteering. Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q. 2012;41:1153–74 Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0899764011429181 .

Okun M, Infurna FJ, Hutchinson I. Are volunteer satisfaction and enjoyment related to cessation of volunteering by older adults? J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016;71:439–44.

Parkinson L, Warburton J, Sibbritt D, Byles J. Volunteering and older women: psychosocial and health predictors of participation. Aging Ment Health. 2010;14:917–27 Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13607861003801045 .

Pavlova MK, Silbereisen RK. Coping with occupational uncertainty and formal volunteering across the life span. J Vocat Behav. 2014;85:93–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.05.005 Elsevier Inc. Available from:.

Pavlova MK, Silbereisen RK. Perceived Expectations for Active Aging, Formal Productive Roles, and Psychological Adjustment Among the Young-Old. Res Aging. 2016;38:26–50 Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0164027515573026 .

Son J, Wilson J. Generativity and volunteering. Sociol Forum. 2011;26:644–67.

Son J, Wilson J. Volunteer work and hedonic, eudemonic, and social well-being. Sociol Forum. 2012;27:658–81.

Son J, Wilson J. Using normative theory to explain the effect of religion and education on volunteering. Sociol Perspect. 2012;55:473–99.

Voorpostel M, Coffé H. Transitions in partnership and parental status, gender, and political and civic participation. Eur Sociol Rev. 2012;28:28–42.

Voorpostel M, Coffé H. The effect of parental separation on young adults??? Political and civic participation. Soc Indic Res. 2014;124:295–316.

Andersson MA, Glanville JL. The contingent effects of mental well-being and education on volunteering. Soc Ment Health. 2016;6:90–105.

DeAngelis R, Acevedo G, Xu X. Secular volunteerism among Texan emerging adults: exploring pathways of childhood and adulthood religiosity. Religions. 2016;7:74.

Erlinghagen M. Volunteering after retirement: evidence from German panel data. Eur Soc. 2010;12:603–25.

Bulanda JR, Jendrek MP. Grandparenting roles and volunteer activity. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016;71:129–40.

Arpino B, Bordone V. Regular provision of grandchild care and participation in social activities. Rev Econ Househ Springer US. 2017;15:135–74.

Morrison A, Polisena J, Husereau D, Moulton K, Clark M, Fiander M, et al. The effect of english-language restriction on systematic review-based meta-analyses: a systematic review of empirical studies. Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2012;28:138–44.

Moher D, Pham B, Lawson ML, Klassen TP. The inclusion of reports of randomised trials published in languages other than English in systematic reviews. Health Technol Assess. 2003;7(41):1–90.

Pham B, Klassen TP, Lawson ML, Moher D. Language of publication restrictions in systematic reviews gave different results depending on whether the intervention was conventional or complementary. J Clin Epidemiol. 2005;58:769–76.

Jüni P, Holenstein F, Sterne J, Bartlett C, Egger M. Direction and impact of language bias in meta-analyses of controlled trials: empirical study. Int J Epidemiol. 2002;31:115–23 Available from: https://academic.oup.com/ije/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ije/31.1.115 .

Dury S, Willems J, De Witte N, De Donder L, Buffel T, Verté D. Municipality and neighborhood influences on volunteering in later life. J Appl Gerontol. 2014;35:601–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464814533818 .

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Anheier HK, Salamon LM. Volunteering in cross-national perspective: initial comparisons. Law Contemp Probl. 2001;62:43. Available from: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29049/1/CSWP_10_web.pdf .

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Sjoukje van der Werf (University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen) for her assistance with the search strategy for the databases. We would also like to thank dr. Koen Bartels (Bangor University), professor René Bekkers (VU Amsterdam), Angela Curl, Ph.D. (Miami University), dr. Noemi Mantovan (Bangor University), Rebecca Nesbit, Ph.D. (The University of Georgia), dr. Maria Pavlova (Friedrich Schiller University of Jena), dr. Marieke Voorpostel (FORS, Switzerland) and Professor John Wilson (Duke University) for providing us the additional information on the models or additional data of their studies needed to calculate odds ratios.

This study was funded by a crowd funding campaign performed by the Ubbo Emmius Fonds Groningen, which transferred the proceeds as a gift to the University of Groningen. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation and writing the manuscript.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, PO Box 30 001, FA40, 9700, RB, Groningen, The Netherlands

Jacobien Niebuur, Lidy van Lente, Aart C. Liefbroer & Nynke Smidt

Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, The Hague, the Netherlands

Aart C. Liefbroer

Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Department of Sociology, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

Nardi Steverink

Department of Health Psychology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

Department of Geriatrics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Nynke Smidt

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors were involved in the conception and design of this study. JN and LvL conducted the search, screened all abstracts and full-text papers for eligibility and performed quality assessment and data-extraction. JN wrote the drafts of the manuscript and all other authors critically revised the different versions of the manuscript. Moreover, all authors were involved in discussing the results and interpreting the findings. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacobien Niebuur .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Competing interests.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Search strings MEDLINE, PsychINFO, SocINDEX, Business Source Premier and EconLit

(“Volunteers”[MeSH:NoExp] OR “Hospital Volunteers” [MeSH].

“volunteering”[tiab] OR “volunteerism”[tiab] OR “voluntary worker”[tiab] OR “voluntary workers”[tiab] OR “voluntary work”[tiab] OR “voluntary association”[tiab] OR “voluntary associations”[tiab] OR “voluntary activities”[tiab] OR “lay worker”[tiab] OR “lay workers”[tiab] OR “unpaid work”[tiab])

(“Age Factors”[MeSH] OR “Aspirations(psychology)”[MeSH] OR “Attitude”[MeSH:NoExp] OR “Behavior” [MeSH:NoExp] OR “Causality”[MeSH:NoExp] OR “Comorbidity”[MeSH] OR “Goals”[MeSH] OR “Helping Behavior” [MeSH] OR “Intention”[MeSH] OR “Motivation”[MeSH:NoExp] OR “Psychology”[MeSH] OR “Reward”[MeSH] OR “Self Efficacy”[MeSH] OR “Sex Factors”[MeSH] OR “Sociological Factors”[MeSH].

“barrier”[tiab] OR “barriers”[tiab] OR “choice”[tiab] OR “choices”[tiab]OR “characteristic”[tiab] OR “characteristics”[tiab] OR “determinant”[tiab] OR “determinants”[tiab] OR “factor”[tiab] OR “factors”[tiab] OR “goal”[tiab] OR “goals”[tiab] OR “incentive”[tiab] OR “incentives”[tiab] OR “likely”[tiab] OR “likelihood”[tiab] OR “motivation”[tiab] OR “motivations”[tiab] OR “motive”[tiab] OR “motives”[tiab] OR “predict”[tiab] OR “predicts”[tiab] OR “prediction”[tiab] OR “predictor”[tiab] OR “predictors”[tiab] OR “reason”[tiab] OR “reasons”[tiab] OR “relation”[tiab] OR “relations”[tiab] OR “relationship”[tiab] OR “why”[tiab] OR “willingness”[tiab]).

(DE “Volunteers”.

TI (volunteering OR volunteerism OR “voluntary work*”OR “volunteer work*” OR “voluntary association*” OR “unpaid work*”).

AB (volunteering OR volunteerism OR “voluntary work*”OR “volunteer work*” OR “voluntary association*” OR “lay work*” OR “unpaid work*”))

(DE “Academic Achievement Motivation” OR DE “Achievement Motivation” OR DE “Altruism” OR DE “Aspirations” OR DE “Attitudes” OR DE “Attribution” OR DE “Causal Analysis” OR DE “Commitment” OR DE “Employee Motivation” OR DE “Extrinsic Motivation” OR DE “Goals” OR DE “Human Capital” OR DE “Incentives” OR DE “Intention” OR DE “Intrinsic Motivation” OR DE “Motivation” OR DE “Needs” OR DE “Occupational Aspirations” OR DE “Organizational Commitment” OR DE “Planned Behavior” OR DE “Prediction” OR DE “Prosocial Behavior” OR DE “Reasoned Action” OR DE “Rewards” OR DE “Self Expansion” OR DE “Social Capital” OR DE “Social Behavior” OR DE “Social Perception”.

TI (barrier OR barriers OR choice OR choices OR characteristic OR characteristics OR determinant OR determinants OR factor OR factors OR goal OR goals OR incentive OR incentives OR likely OR likelihood OR motivation OR motivations OR motive OR motives OR predict OR prediction OR predictor OR predictors OR reason OR reasons OR relation OR relations OR relationship OR relationships OR why OR willingness).

AB (barrier OR barriers OR choice OR choices OR characteristic OR characteristics OR determinant OR determinants OR factor OR factors OR goal OR goals OR incentive OR incentives OR likely OR likelihood OR motivation OR motivations OR motive OR motives OR predict OR prediction OR predictor OR predictors OR reason OR reasons OR relation OR relations OR relationship OR relationships OR why OR willingness)).

(DE “LAY Ministry” OR DE “VOLUNTEERS” OR DE “STUDENT volunteers in social services” OR DE “VOLUNTEER workers in social services” OR DE “VOLUNTEER service” OR DE “WOMEN volunteers in social services” OR DE “YOUNG volunteers in social services” OR DE “OLDER volunteers in social services”.

(DE “ASSOCIATIONS, institutions, etc.” OR DE “ATTITUDE (psychology)” OR DE “BEHAVIORISM (psychology)” OR DE “BEHAVIOR” OR DE “HUMAN behavior” OR DE “PROSOCIAL behavior” OR DE “HELPING behavior” OR DE “PLANNED behavior theory” OR DE “MOTIVATION (psychology)” OR DE “EMPLOYEE motivation” OR DE “GOAL (psychology)” OR DE “REWARD (psychology)” OR DE “SELF-actualization (psychology)” OR DE “SELF-determination theory” OR DE “SOCIOEMOTIONAL selectivity theory” OR DE “COMMITMENT” OR DE “PSYCHOLOGY” OR DE “INFLUENCE (Psychology)” OR DE “HUMAN capital” OR DE “SOCIAL capital (Sociology)” OR DE “CULTURAL capital”.

Business Source Premier

DE “STUDENT volunteers in social services” OR DE “VOLUNTEERS” OR DE “VOLUNTEERS -- psychology” OR DE “VOLUNTEER recruitment” OR DE “VOLUNTEER service” OR DE “VOLUNTEER workers in income tax return preparation” OR DE “VOLUNTEER workers in social services” OR DE “WOMEN volunteers in social services” OR DE “YOUNG volunteers in social services”.

AB (volunteering OR volunteerism OR “voluntary work*”OR “volunteer work*” OR “voluntary association*” OR “lay work*” OR “unpaid work*”)

DE “ATTITUDE (psychology)” OR DE “BEHAVIOR” OR DE “BEHAVIORAL research” OR DE “CONSUMER behavior” OR DE “DECISION making” OR DE “DISCRIMINATION in employment” OR DE “GENDER role in the work environment” OR DE “HUMAN behavior” OR DE “INCENTIVES in industry” OR DE “PROSOCIAL behavior” OR DE “HELPING behavior” OR DE “PLANNED behavior theory” OR DE “MOTIVATION (psychology)” OR DE “EMPLOYEE motivation” OR DE “REWARD (psychology)” OR DE “SELF-actualization (psychology)” OR DE “SELF-determination theory” OR DE “COMMITMENT” OR DE “HUMAN capital” OR DE “SOCIAL capital” OR DE “CULTURAL capital”.

TI (volunteer OR volunteers OR volunteering OR volunteerism OR “voluntary work*”OR “volunteer work*” OR “voluntary association*”).

AB (volunteer OR volunteers OR volunteering OR volunteerism OR “voluntary work*”OR “volunteer work*” OR “voluntary association*”)

TI (attitude OR attitudes OR barrier OR barriers OR behavior OR choice OR choices OR characteristic OR characteristics OR commitment OR “cultural capital” OR determinant OR determinants OR factor OR factors OR goal OR goals OR “human capital” OR incentive OR incentives OR likely OR likelihood OR motivation OR motivations OR motive OR motives OR predict OR prediction OR predictor OR predictors OR reason OR reasons OR relation OR relations OR rewards OR relationship OR relationships OR “social capital” OR why OR willingness).

AB (attitude OR attitudes OR barrier OR barriers OR behavior OR choice OR choices OR characteristic OR characteristics OR commitment OR “cultural capital” OR determinant OR determinants OR factor OR factors OR goal OR goals OR “human capital” OR incentive OR incentives OR likely OR likelihood OR motivation OR motivations OR motive OR motives OR predict OR prediction OR predictor OR predictors OR reason OR reasons OR relation OR relations OR rewards OR relationship OR relationships OR “social capital” OR why OR willingness)

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Niebuur, J., van Lente, L., Liefbroer, A.C. et al. Determinants of participation in voluntary work: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies. BMC Public Health 18 , 1213 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6077-2

Download citation

Received : 30 January 2018

Accepted : 01 October 2018

Published : 02 November 2018

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6077-2

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Social participation
Determinants
Participation
General population
Unpaid work
Meta-analysis

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

Submission enquiries: [email protected]
General enquiries: [email protected]

IMAGES

(PDF) Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent to International
(PDF) Determinants of Voluntary Association Participation and
VOLUNTEER PARTICIPANT INFORMATION Research Study on
File:Venn diagram of Participatory Action Research.jpg
(PDF) Ethical issues and strategies for the voluntary participation of
(PDF) An Introduction to Citizen Participation, Voluntary Organizations

VIDEO

Trends in Volunteering
Participation in research is vital
NBAC proposed a concept of vulnerability in research based on features of potential subjects
GHAC March 2024 Full Commission Meeting
The Successful Impact of Changing Philosophy and Methods of Charity Campaigning
Living options

COMMENTS

Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent to International Genetic Research
voluntariness (the number of people volunteering) and understanding of the. study' s genetic purpose. A total of 655 individuals (United States: 348; Nigeria: 307) were interviewed after ...
Ensuring Consent to Research is Voluntary: How Far Do We Need to Go?
Graham Charles Lindegger. One fundamental ethical principle underpinning research ethics is that of respect for persons. It requires that researchers respect research participants' autonomy, interests, and wishes, and act on the presumption that participants are the best judges of what their interests are (Nuffield Council on Bioethics 2002 ).
Voluntary participation and comprehension of informed consent in a
An important aspect of voluntary participation in research is the capacity to withdraw from an ongoing study. From this perspective, the notion of voluntariness in relation to scientific research has a temporal dimension including the possibility of changing one's mind.
Informed Consent—We Can and Should Do Better
Informed consent is fundamental to the ethical and legal doctrines respecting research participants' voluntary participation in clinical research, enshrined in such documents as the 1947 Nuremberg Code; reaffirmed in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki, revised in 1975, and the 1978 Belmont Report; and codified in the United States in the 1981 Common Rule, revised in 2018 and implemented in 2019. 1
Ethics in coercive environments: Ensuring voluntary participation in
When research is conducted in institutional settings such as educational institutions, the military, organizations, and prisons, the fundamental ethical challenge is ensuring the voluntariness of research participation. This chapter considers the key variables that influence voluntary participation of people, stakeholders, and institutions in psychological studies.
PDF Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent to International ...
complicate the ethical principle of voluntary participation in research.38-40 There is a small but growing literature on informed consent to medical research con-ducted in low- or middle-income coun-tries.41-49 However, little is known about in-formed consent to genetic epidemiological research in culturally or socioeconomically
Comprehension of informed consent and voluntary participation in
Informed consent as stipulated in regulatory human research guidelines requires volunteers to be well-informed about what will happen to them in a trial. However, researchers may be faced with the challenge of how to ensure that a volunteer agreeing to take part in a clinical trial is truly informed. This study aimed to find out volunteers' comprehension of informed consent and voluntary ...
Ensuring Consent to Research is Voluntary: How Far Do We Need to Go?
in research out of deference for researchers or in order to obviate what they fear might be the consequences of non-participation. Our research has also demonstrated that at times potential research subjects seek the assistance of ad-vocacy groups to assist them, because of these perceived limitations on voluntariness (Essack et al. 2010). We think
(PDF) Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent to International
Download Free PDF. Download Free PDF. ... and political conditions may complicate the ethical principle of voluntary participation in research.38-40 There is a small but growing literature on informed consent to medical research conducted in low- or middle-income countries.41-49 However, little is known about informed consent to genetic ...
Informed Consent Process: Foundation of the Researcher-participant Bond
Informed Consent Process. The informed consent is a process by which the physician sensitizes the patient about the nature of the study in a language that is nontechnical and understandable by the study participant. Informed consent document (ICD) has got two parts: the "subject information sheet" and the "informed consent form" (ICF ...
Research Participation, Risks and Benefits of
A reference work entry from the Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine that explains the voluntary decision to engage in a process of organized scientific inquiry. It covers the concepts of informed consent, risks, benefits, and confidentiality in human subjects research.
Voluntariness of Consent for Research: An Empirical and ...
unwilling to accept the risks of research, including painful procedures and randomization.44-45,59-63 Voluntary participation in research also includes the right to withdraw from a study at any time. Whether subjects withdraw once involved in re-search may turn on whether they know that they are involved in research and that they have the
Informed Consent for Participation in Research Project
Informed consent is a written, dated, and signed, decision of a patient/legal guardian of the patient to take part in a medical procedure, clinical trial, or a research project. Before giving the informed consent the participant or his/her legal representative has the right to talk to a relevant member of a research team (usually a physician).
Voluntary participation and comprehension of informed consent in a
Studies on informed consent to medical research conducted in low or middle-income settings have increased, including empirical investigations of consent to genetic research. We investigated voluntary participation and comprehension of informed consent among women involved in a genetic epidemiological study on breast cancer in an urban setting of Nigeria comparing women in the case and control ...
PDF Guidance on Research Involving Students as Research Participants
participation is voluntary and based upon full and accurate information. The inherently hierarchical nature of student-teacher relationships can impact the "voluntary" nature of research that involves student participation. Students may volunteer to participate because they believe it will place them in a favorable
How to obtain informed consent for research
The informed consent process. The voluntary expression of the consent by a competent subject and the adequate information disclosure about the research are critical and essential elements of the informed consent process [].Competent subjects able to comprehend the research-related information should personally decide and provide the consent on research participation.
PDF Informed Consent Agreement for Participation in a Research Study
In addition, include the contact information for the IRB Manager (Ruth McKeogh, Tel. 508 831-6699, Email: [email protected] ) and the Human Protection Administrator (Gabriel Johnson, Tel. 508-831-4989, Email: [email protected]). This section is required.) Your participation in this research is voluntary. Your refusal to participate will not result in ...
Ethical Considerations in Research
Voluntary participation. Voluntary participation means that all research subjects are free to choose to participate without any pressure or coercion. All participants are able to withdraw from, or leave, the study at any point without feeling an obligation to continue. Your participants don't need to provide a reason for leaving the study.
PDF Do you know that your participation is voluntary?
Version: August 27, 2020 Section 11: Page 20 of 30. Do you know that your participation is voluntary? Do you understand that this is research and procedures involved in research are experimental? The use of open-ended questions is believed to be more effective as it requires that participants vocalize their understanding of the information that ...
Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent to International Genetic
Informed consent represents a key ethical concern in clinical and community-based epidemiological genetic research.1 - 9 Voluntary informed consent is universally accepted as a precondition for scientific research involving human beings. National and international guidelines for ethical conduct in research outline specific requirements for obtaining informed consent.10 - 13 Despite the ...
Determinants of participation in voluntary work: a systematic review
Participation in voluntary work may be associated with individual and societal benefits. Because of these benefits and as a result of challenges faced by governments related to population ageing, voluntary work becomes more important for society, and policy measures are aimed at increasing participation rates. In order to effectively identify potential volunteers, insight in the determinants ...

Informed Consent—We Can and Should Do Better

See More About

Manage citations:

Select Your Interests

Get the latest research based on your areas of interest.

Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent to International Genetic Research

Related Papers

RELATED PAPERS

RELATED TOPICS

Informed Consent for Participation in Research Project

Cite this chapter

Access this chapter

Further Reading

Acknowledgments

Author information

Corresponding author

Editor information

1.1 Information for Patients, Parents, or Legal Representatives

Informed Consent of Patients, Parents, or Legal Representatives

Rights and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Download citation

Share this chapter

Determinants of participation in voluntary work: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies

Conclusions

Search strategy and study selection

Data extraction and assessment of risk of bias

Statistical analysis

Meta-regression and subgroup analyses

Publication bias

Likelihood of risk of bias

Determinants of participation in voluntary work

Demographic factors

Gender (female)

Ethnicity (white)

Marital status (married/partnered)

Parental status

Socioeconomic status

Educational attainment

Participation in productive activities

Volunteering at baseline

Employment status

Health status

Overall self-rated health

Functional limitations

Physical health

Mental health and cognitive health

Social relationships

Social network size

Frequency of contacts

Church attendance

Religious identification

Other factors

Publication Bias

Strengths and limitations

Recommendations for further research

Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Availability of data and materials

Author information

Contributions

Corresponding author

Ethics declarations

Consent for publication

Publisher’s Note

Search strings MEDLINE, PsychINFO, SocINDEX, Business Source Premier and EconLit

Rights and permissions

About this article

Share this article

BMC Public Health

IMAGES

VIDEO

COMMENTS