HEALTH and aged care advocates believe new research could reverse declining volunteer numbers including in Bendigo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australia's volunteering numbers had already dropped 20 per cent since 2014, according to some estimates.
COVID-19 has made the situation worse.
Bendigo Health volunteer services director Sharon Walsh said 50 per cent of people donating their time to her program had stopped, which had affected their own wellbeing as much as anything else.
"Lots of my volunteers say they feel like COVID-19 has aged them," she said.
Many felt like they were not as physically fit or as mentally sharp because they were not getting out of the house as much, Ms Walsh said.
She hoped that a new La Trobe University led study - which she helped co-author - on volunteer management will help reverse declines as the pandemic ends.
The university worked with researchers at Bendigo Health, Northeast Health Wangaratta and Austin Health to survey 270 volunteers about their intentions to keep volunteering in the health sector.
Story continues below research paper.
They have used it to create a new framework that hospitals can use to help guide managers.
Lead researcher Rachel Winterton said volunteers reported that the more satisfied they were with their managers, the more they felt an organisation was committed to them.
It made them more likely to want to keep volunteering, she said.
"It's a really challenging time to keep volunteers engaged and contributing," she said.
"If we can better train and support managers of volunteers, so they can provide a positive experience for volunteers, as a community we're more likely to reap the social and economic benefits of volunteering."
The research found that volunteers' average age was 67 who had spent six years in their roles, attending for five hours every week.
They were also very satisfied overall, were deeply engaged in what they did and intended to keep volunteering with the groups they were with.
About 20 per cent of survey respondents volunteered in patient care, 14 per cent were greeters or ambassadors, 11 per cent worked in palliative care and 10 per cent were in patient transport.
The rest gave their time to a variety of other roles.
Dr Winterton's research also asked managers about the challenges of their roles.
"Manager of volunteers have to be across a wide range of business functions - human resources, OH&S, and community engagement - as well as the specialised field in which their volunteers are working," she said.
Dr Winterton said the findings could have implications for other community sectors that rely on volunteers, including education, arts, environment, emergency services and sport and recreation.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark bendigoadvertiser.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter @BgoAddy
- Follow us on Instagram @bendigoadvertiser
- Join us on Facebook
- Follow us on Google News