Older Volunteers' Competence Training

Older Volunteers' Competence Training for Community-based Long-term Care Services

This project was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the competence training program in improving the knowledge and skills of volunteer work, the motivation for volunteering, self-efficacy, and satisfaction with volunteer work among older volunteers.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Volunteers
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Competence training program; Other: Control

Detailed Description

A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the effects of a 3-month comprehensive competence training program in improving the knowledge and skills of volunteer work, the motivation for volunteering, self-efficacy, and satisfaction with volunteer work among older volunteers. Using convenience sampling, 10 senior activity centers with 162 older volunteers were recruited and cluster-randomized to the intervention group (5 centers) or wait-list comparison group (5 centers). The intervention group received a 3-hour weekly course training session in four consecutive weeks and provided services to community-dwelling older adults for two months; the comparison group provided their routine services at senior activity centers. Data were collected at baseline, one month, and three months into the study.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 162
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 80708
    • Kaohsiung Medical University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• older adults age ≥ 65
• able to read and write in Chinese
• being a volunteer at the senior activity center for at least 1 month

Exclusion Criteria:

• illiterate

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Competence training program; This group received a 3-hour weekly course training session in four consecutive weeks and provided services to community-dwelling older adults for two months.	Other: Competence training program; A 3-hour weekly course training session in four consecutive weeks and provided services to community-dwelling older adults for two months.
Active Comparator: Control; This group provided their routine services at senior activity centers.	Other: Control; This group provided their routine services at senior activity centers.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
knowledge and skills of volunteer work	measured by the Older Volunteer Competency Scale. It has 30 items with 3 sub-scales. Each item is measured by a 10-point Likert scale. The item scores represent the perceived improvement needed by the respondents with higher scores indicating more needed improvements.	3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
motivation for volunteering	measured by the Volunteer Functions Inventory. It contains 30 items in 6 sub-scales to assess volunteers' motivational functions. Each item is rated on a 7-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates a greater importance of that motive.	3 months
self-efficacy	measured by the Volunteers' Self-efficacy Questionnaire. It contains 25 items measuring four dimensions. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates better self-efficacy.	3 months
satisfaction with volunteer work	measured by the Working Satisfaction Scale. It is comprised of 13 items assessing 3 dimensions. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates higher satisfaction with volunteer work.	3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kaohsiung Medical University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kuei-Min Chen, PhD, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 16, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 8, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): December 8, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 5, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 5, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): June 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 15, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 9, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: satisfaction; self-efficacy; motivation; knowledge and skills
• Other Study ID Numbers: KMUHIRB-E(I)-20220056

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No