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Benefits for Older People Engaged in Environmental Volunteering and Socializing Activities in City Parks: Preliminary Results of a Program in Italy.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of an environmental volunteering program involving park restoration and social activities for older people. Older people face a series of challenges, ranging from social isolation and depression to a lack of exercise, as well as the difficult task of creating new meaning to deal with a decrease in vitality and new social relationships, interests, and commitments. From this perspective, this pilot study aimed to contribute to highlighting if or how these aspects can be positively correlated with organized activities associated with caring for public green spaces. A single-group, pre-test/post-test design was used, and baseline and post-participation measurements were recorded. The data were collected using a questionnaire aimed at evaluating variations in physical activity, positive and negative emotions, life satisfaction, and perceived social support. Through focus group interviews with participants at the baseline and after one year of participating in the program, the participants' motivations and experienced effects were explored. The sample was composed of a group of 19 healthy people who joined the program. The quantitative results showed that the participants' level of physical activity, subjective life satisfaction, and positive feelings were significantly increased at the follow-up. Positive correlations were found between increasing moderate physical activities, walking, and The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) positive feelings. A pro-environmental attitude of the elderly emerged from the qualitative data. The results, limitations, and improvements of the study are discussed.

SUBMITTER: Gagliardi C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7312208 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Benefits for Older People Engaged in Environmental Volunteering and Socializing Activities in City Parks: Preliminary Results of a Program in Italy.

Gagliardi Cristina C Pillemer Karl K Gambella Elena E Piccinini Flavia F Fabbietti Paolo P

International journal of environmental research and public health 20200526 11

The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of an environmental volunteering program involving park restoration and social activities for older people. Older people face a series of challenges, ranging from social isolation and depression to a lack of exercise, as well as the difficult task of creating new meaning to deal with a decrease in vitality and new social relationships, interests, and commitments. From this perspective, this pilot study aimed to contribute to hi ...[more]

PMID: 32466501

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Project description:BackgroundQualitative narrative analysis and case studies form the majority of the current peer-reviewed literature about the benefits of professional volunteering or international placements for healthcare professionals. These often describe generalised outcomes that are difficult to define or have multiple meanings (such as 'communication skills' or 'leadership') and are therefore difficult to measure. However, there is an interest from employers, professional groups and individual volunteers in generating metrics for monitoring personal and professional development of volunteers and comparing different volunteering experiences in terms of their impact on the volunteers. In this paper, we describe two studies in which we (a) consolidated qualitative research and individual accounts into a core outcome set and (b) tested the core outcome set in a large group of global health stakeholders.MethodWe conducted a systematic review and meta-synthesis of literature to extract outcomes of international placements and variables that may affect these outcomes. We presented these outcomes to 58 stakeholders in global health, employing a Delphi method to reach consensus about which were 'core' and which were likely to be developed through international volunteering.ResultsThe systematic review of 55 papers generated 133 unique outcomes and 34 potential variables. One hundred fifty-six statements were then presented to the Delphi stakeholders, of which they agreed 116 were core to a wide variety of healthcare professional practice and likely to be developed through international experiences. The core outcomes (COs) were both negative and positive and included skills, knowledge, attitudes and outcomes for healthcare organisations.ConclusionsWe summarised existing literature and stakeholder opinion into a core outcome set of 116 items that are core to healthcare professional practice and likely to be developed through international experiences. We identified, in the literature, a set of variables that could affect learning outcomes. The core outcome set will be used in a future study to develop a psychometric assessment tool.

Project description:Urbanization transforms undeveloped landscapes into built environments, causing changes in communities and ecological processes. Flying arthropods play important roles in these processes as pollinators, decomposers, and predators, and can be important in structuring food webs. The goal of this study was to identify associations between urbanization and the composition of communities of flying (and floating) arthropods within gardens and parks in a medium-sized mesic city. We predicted that flying arthropod abundance and diversity would respond strongly to percent impervious surface and distance to city center, measurements of urbanization. Flying arthropods were sampled from 30 gardens and parks along an urbanization gradient in Toledo, Ohio, during July and August 2016, using elevated pan traps. A variety of potential predictor variables were also recorded at each site. We collected a total of 2,369 individuals representing nine orders. We found that flying arthropod community composition was associated with percent impervious surface and canopy cover. Overall flying arthropod abundance was negatively associated with percent impervious surface and positively associated with distance to city center. Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants), Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies), and Araneae (spiders) were positively associated with distance to city center. Hemiptera (true bugs), Diptera (flies), and Araneae were negatively associated with percent impervious surface. Both distance to city center and percent impervious surface are metrics of urbanization, and this study shows how these factors influence flying arthropod communities in urban gardens and city parks, including significant reductions in taxa that contain pollinators and predators important to urban agriculture and forestry. A variety of environmental factors also showed significant associations with responses (e.g. canopy cover and soil moisture), suggesting these factors may underlie or modulate the urbanization effects. More research is needed to determine mechanisms of change.

Dataset Information

Benefits for Older People Engaged in Environmental Volunteering and Socializing Activities in City Parks: Preliminary Results of a Program in Italy.

Publications

Benefits for Older People Engaged in Environmental Volunteering and Socializing Activities in City Parks: Preliminary Results of a Program in Italy.

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