Citation (APA style) Abstract/Summary RSVP SCP FGP Type of 

Evaluation 

(Select all: 

Impact, 

implementation, 

outcomes)

Study Design 

(RCT, QED, 

etc.)

Included in 

Systematic 

Review?

Greenleigh Associates. (1966). An 

evaluation of the Foster Grandparent 

Program. Report prepared for the 

Administration on Aging. Department of 

Health, Education, and Welfare. New 

York, NY: Greenleigh Associates. 

This is the final report of the Evaluation of the Foster Grandparent Program based on a field survey conducted from April 1966 to October 31, 1966. 

The evaluation was conducted under contract with the Office of Economic Opportunity and in cooperation with the Administration on Aging of the 

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The evaluation showed that the Foster Grandparent Program has demonstrated great value and 

should be expanded on a large scale, but requires improvements in administration and operations. The program has a positive economic and human 

impact. Economically it has raised those older people who are foster grandparents to a level of income above the poverty line. It is almost impossible 

to reduce the real human impact of the Foster Grandparent Program to the written word. To see the program in operation, to observe the hunger of 

the deprived, handicapped and sick children for love, warmth and attention, to learn of the reborn feelings of usefulness on the part of the older 

people who had been cast aside by society-- these are the essential human aspects of the program. The evaluation included studies of ten of the 

twenty-two foster grandparent projects that were funded at the time the study was approved. The ten projects included 33 child-serving host agencies 

consisting of 10 general and special hospitals, 7 institutions for the retarded, 15 institutions or agencies for dependent or neglected children, and one 

specialized institution for emotionally disturbed children. The study included 478 older persons who were employed as fosterparents and had 

worked two months or more. In addition, it included 907 children who received fostergrandparent care for two weeks or more.

X

Implementation/ 

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Unmatched 

Comparison 

group N - Prior to 1980

Saltz, R. (1967). Evaluation of a fostergrandparent program findings of the 

foster-grandparent research project. 

Report prepared for the U.S Office of 

Economic Opportunity. 

Study conducted under U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity, community action research grant CG 9394. The major effects on the children in the 

Foster-Grandparent Program in the Sara Fisher Home can be summarized as follows: 1. Foster-grandparent care appears to have positive effects on 

the social behaviour and alertness of infants as young as one to seven weeks of age manifested by: (a) decreased fretfulness; (b) increased alertness 

to their environment; and (c) earleir evidence of vocalizing attempts. 2. There were indication that foster-grandparent care had beneficial effects 

from 4 months to 2.5 years of age. 3. The addition of foster-grandparents, even to an already "good" institutional environment, appears to help create 

favorable climate for certain aspects of institutionalized children's language, skills and intellectual development. (a) There is some e vidence to 

suggest foster-grandparents can contribute to the maintenance of a "normal" rate of intellectual development in the institutionalized children. (b) 

there are indications that foster-grandparents can have a favorable effect on the language and skills development of institutionalized children. 4. In 

their cottage unit settings, the children manifested improvement overall social and emotional adjustement after foster-grandparent care. The most 

striking beneficial effects appear to be: (a) Improvement in the children's social behavior. Children were seen as more outgoing and as having 

improved relationships with both peers and authority figures. (b) Evidence of the children's increased self-confidence, with a decrease in instances of 

fearful, insecure behavior. 5. In the pre-school setting, the children showed the same types of improvement as in the cottage units. In addition, fostergrandparent care appeared to have a "settling" effect on the behavior of the children in the pres-school. The children were better able to function and 

appropriately and to make constructive use of the materials and training offered by the pre-school. Comparing the children before and after time in 

the foster grandparent they evidenced: (a) less hyperactive and/or destructive and aggressive behavior; (b) an increase in cheerful and even-tempered 

behavior and a decrease in fretful, sullen behavior; (c) improved social skills; better relationships with peers and accpetance of teach direction; (d) 

improved language readiness skills, such as recognition of colors and letters, etc. 

X

Impact

Nonexperimental: 

Unmatched 

comparison 

group N - Prior to 1980

Saltz, R. (1968). Foster-grandparents 

and institutionalized young children: two 

years of a foster-grandparent program . 

Report prepared for the Administration on 

Aging. Department of Health, Education, 

and Welfare. Detroit, Michigan: Merrill 

Palmer Institute.

This report is based upon the findings of an intensive two-year research study, undertaken by the Merrill-Palmer Foster-Grandparent Research 

Project, of the operation and effects of one Foster-Grandparent Program (FGP; specifically-- the FGP administered by the Catholic Social Services 

Agency of Wayne County at the Sarah Fisher Home in Farmington, MI). By studying in depth the operation of this program, it was hoped that better 

understanding could be gained of the possible impact of such a program on: (1) the social, emotional and intellectual functioning of institutionalized 

infants and young children who receive FGP care; and (2) the emotional and physical well-being of the older people serving as the foster 

grandparents. Perhpas the most important finding is that the foster-grandparents have indeed proven able to fulfill the personalized quasi-family 

function for the infants and young children in their caree that was the most innovative feature of the Foster-Grandparent program. The emotional 

needs and potential satisfactions of the foster-grandparents as employees and those of the infants and young children in their care seem to be, in a 

very unique way, mutual and complementary. This mutuality of benefit was summed up quite simply by one of the foster-grandparents, after two 

years of employment at the Sarah Fisher Home, who said in reference to her foster-grandchild, "I love him and he loves me. We help each other."

X

Implementation/

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Unmatched 

comparison 

group N - Prior to 1980

Nash, B. (1968). Foster Grandparents in 

Child-care settings. Report prepared for 

the Administration on Aging. Department 

of Health, Education, and Welfare. 

Validates the concept that the helpers and those who are helped both gain from the experience based on the first 3 years of the FGP.

X

N - Prior to 1980

Gray, R., & Kasteler, J.R. (1970). An 

evaluation of the effectiveness of a Foster 

Grandparent Project. Sociology & Social 

Research , 54, pp. 181-189.

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of a project which employed elderly people to act as foster grandparents to mentally retarded 

children. In addition to the benefits accuring to the children from such individual care and training, the foster grandparents were found to have 

shown increments in life satisfaction and personal and social adjustment when compared with a similar group of elderly persons who were not 

employed on the project. This paper focuses on findings relating to the effects of the program on the elderly participants and supports the notion that 

meaningful, purposeful activity in addition to some financial remuneration are basic ingredients of good personal and social adjustment and 

increased life satisfaction in old age. 

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group N - Prior to 1980
Takacs, K.B. (1970). Foster 

grandparents: A unique contribution to 

the mentally retarded (MS). University of 

Wisconsin, Madison, Wisonsin.

This thesis considers a Foster Granparent program in Wisconsin that serves institutionalized mentally retarded individuals at three facilities. Foster 

Granparents were asked to complete a six-page "Questionare on Self" concerning general health, personal and social characteristics; six months 

later, the questionnnaire was administered in shorter form, followed by interviews. Responses indicate that Wisconsin Foster Grandparents view 

participation in the program as having a positive impact on thier lives. For example, 35.9-41.3% felt their is better; nearly 80% rated themselves as 

"very satisfied" on "life satisfaction"; and 83.7-92.4% reported an increased "feeling of usefulness" following participation in the program. Foster 

Granparents (n=136) were also evaluated at three separate time periods by the program using the Cottage or Ward Personnel Evaluation form. 

Results showed that 77.2% of evaluators thought the Foster Grandparent had a favorable or very favorable influence on their assigned child.

X

Outcome

NonexperimentalSingle group - 

outcome (pretest/post-test) N - Prior to 1980

Saltz, R. (1971). Aging Persons as Childcare Workers in a Foster-Grandparent 

Program: Psychosocial effects and work 

performance. The International Journal 

of Aging and Human Development , 2(4), 

pp. 314-340.

This paper reports partial findings of a longitudinal study intended to evaluate the effectiveness of a foster-grandparent program. The project was 

part of the nationwide Foster-Grandparent program which employs indigent elders (minimum age: 60) in a variety of children's institutions. Workers 

are employed for twenty hours per week and receive the U.S. minimum hourly wage. Their services consist of providing personal attention and 

affection to infants and children who reside in institutions. The Foster Grandparent program has two major objectives. The first is to alleviate some 

of the financial and psychological problems which often face impoverished elderly persons by providing them with interesting, paid employment. 

The present paper is concerned with findings relevant to this first objective. The second goal of the program is to provide institutionalized young 

children with the kind of individualized care widely held to be crucial for normal early psychosocial develoment. Findings of the evaluation study as 

they relate to effects on the children have been reported elsewhere (Saltz, 1968; Saltz, 1970). Findings with regard to the impact on elderly persons 

found that FGP participation was associated with improved life-satisfaction and was also conducive to maintenance of health and vigor in many 

participants (relative to a matched comparison group of program applicants and demographically similar adults who were judged to be eligible for 

program participation). Results also indicated that the FGP were effective child-care workers and had a beneficial impact on children. Additionally, 

they demonstrated good job stability, met adequate attendance standards, and were rated favorably by their supervisors.

X

Impact

QED - groups 

formed by 

matching - nonPSM N - Prior to 1980

Saltz, R. (1973). Effects of Part-time 

"Mothering" on IQ and SQ of Young 

Institutionalized Children. Report 

prepared for U.S Office of Economic 

Opportunity.

Studied the effects of institutionalization on the development of 81 children aged 16 mo. to 6 yr. A foster-grandparent program (FGP) group 

received part-time "mothering" by elderly institutional aides for a period of up to more than 4 yr. A control group resided in a similar institution 

which did not provide supplementary "foster grandparent" care. Periodically during the 4-yr program, Ss were given a battery of tests (e.g., the 

Cattell Infant Intelligence Scale). There was a significant difference in IQ in favor of the FGP group. The FGP group made average progress over 

long periods of institutionalization in IQ-test scores and in the development of social competence, as measured by Vineland Social Maturity Scale. 

Draw-a-Man IQ scores were significantly lower than Stanford-Binet IQ scores for both experimental and control groups. (PsycINFO Database 

Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group N - Prior to 1980

Kornblum, S.F. (1981). Impact of a 

Volunteer Service Role Upon Aged 

People (PhD). Bryan Mawr College, 

Bryan Mawr, Pennsylvania. 

The impact of new role, a volunteer service role, upon the health, morale, social participation, level of activity, and self-perception of aged 

participants in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) was examined. Data were obtained from 198 aged people who responded to the search 

for RSVP volunteers. They were interviewed twice using a structured interview schedule, at the time they first indicated an interest in serving as 

RSVP volunteers, and again six months later. The 198 aged people were divided into three groups, for purposes of comparison, consisting of an 

experimental group of program participants, a comparison group of non-participants, and a "dropout" group consisting of participants who resigned 

before completing six months of volunteer work. Participation in a volunteer role had no clear measurable impact upon participants except for a 

significant improvement in self-perception and three of the seven indicators of self-assessed health...

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group Y

Ziegler, S., & King, J. (1982). Evaluating 

the Observable Effects of Foster 

Grandparents on Hospitalized Children. 

Public Health Reports, 97(6), pp. 550-

557.

Because Foster Grandparent Programs have been widely implemented in acute care settings but not systematically evaluated, a study was done of 

the effects that the visiting of parent surrogates had on young children in acute care settings. Three groups of children in such settings were 

compared: those with foster grandparents, those without visitors, and those visited by their parents. Intergroup differences in the children's hospital 

behavior reached statistical significance in respect to only one of five behavioral domains investigated. The results of the foster grandparent 

intervention were found to be relatively weak compared with the results reported in earlier studies. However, it was believed that the discrepancy 

could be accounted for by the presence or absence of the visitor at the time of observation of the child's behavior. Implications drawn from the study 

were that greater benefits might be derived from the Foster Grandparent Program at little additional cost if the foster grandparent began visiting 

immediately upon the child's admission to the hospital, if this visiting extended beyond the current standard 2-hour period, and if the visitor was 

present at all traumatic medical procedures.

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group Y

Trammel-Seck, E. (1983). National 

Intergenerational Research and 

Dissemination Project: Final Report on 

Opportunities for Older Workers in the 

Children's Preschool Network. Report 

prepared for the Administration on Aging 

and Administration for Children, Youth, 

and Families. 

 The purpose of this Project was to collect and disseminate information on the utilization of older persons in the children's preschool network 

nationwide. To achieve this purpose, a series of case studies on a national sample of ten preschool education/development programs (including three 

Foster Grandparent Program sites and four RSVP sites) was conducted to determine how seniors were utilized in the programs, the advantages and 

disadvantages of the collaborative effort, and the reasons for success or failure of the intergenerational programs. Survey data was collected from 

359 persons attending the National Head Conference network on the nature and extent of intergenerational programming so that we could judge 

whether the findings of the case studies were representative of other Head Start programs which provide opportunities for older persons. Data reveal 

that intergenerational Head Start programs have been in exisitence for some time and are distributed all over the United States. The overwhelming 

mahority of staff, senior program personnel, and other experts were "very satisfied" with their experience with older olders. Seniors interviewed in 

the preschool settings were "very satisfied" with their present position.

X X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Case studies, 

surveys, 

interviews

N - 

Implementation 

only
Fengler, A.P. (1984). Life Satisfaction of 

Subpopulation of Elderly: The 

Comparative Effects of Volunteerism, 

Employment, and Meal Site 

Participation . Report prepared for AARP 

Andrus Foundation. Thousand Oaks, 

California: Sage Publications, Inc. 

Although research generally indicates a positive relationship between activity and well-being, the strength of the relationship depends upon the 

presence or absence of personal and social resources such as health, solvency, residence, and surviving spouse as well as the nature of the activity 

itself. When such resources diminish, remaining activities take on added significance for maintaining morale. The present study investigates the 

relationship between elders who are volunteers, employed, or participating in meal site programs, and life satisfaction. The responses of 1400 

systematically selected elders to a needs assessment survey in a four-county area in northwestern New England suggest that those individuals 

experiencing the greatest number of resource deficits, such as living alone, residing in a city, and being in poor health, benefitted the most from 

participating in these formal activities. An unanticipated finding was that the strongest and most consistent predictor of life satisfaction for 

disadvantaged elders was participation as a volunteer for the Retired Senior Volunteer program.

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group Y

Litigation Support Services. (1984). 

Impact evaluation of the foster 

grandparent program on the foster 

grandparents: Final report. Report 

prepared for ACTION. Evaluation 

Division. Washington, DC: ACTION. 

A three-year impact evaluation of the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), conducted through ACTION resources in 1984, compared FGP 

volunteers with potential volunteers (i.e.- those on a waiting list to participate in the program). A stratified random sample of 14 FGP projects was 

selected from over 200 projects nationwide. Respondents were interviewed at three phases of the study in 1980 (N=370), 1981 (N=341), and 1983 

(N=351), using the Older American Resources and Services/Multi-dimensional Functional Assessment (OARS) questionnaire. The study found that 

FGP has beneficial effects on the social, mental, physical, and economic functioning of participants. Specifically, participation was associated with 

better overall functioning, improvements in mental health and social resources over time, and lessened the decline in the level of physical health over 

time.

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group Y

Arella, L.R. (1984). The Green County 

RSVP: A case study . Report prepared for 

ACTION. 

This paper is a case study and evaluation report of the Retired Senior Volunteer Project (RSVP) of Greene County in upstate New York. At this site, 

three staff administrators coordinate the services of 120-130 retired citizens. The research addressed three general questions: (1) Does RSVP attract 

a type of volunteer who is not likely to benefit from volunteer service with other organizations? (2) How important is funding for the services 

provided by RSVP? (3) What do RSVP volunteers get from their membership and what would make their volunteer activities more satisfying? 

Questionnaire responses were solicited from active members, inactive members, and seniors who had never been RSVP members. The study 

concluded that volunteerism remains a key opportunity for the aging to feel connected to the larger social structure, but cannot fulfill this possibility 

without a deliberate commitment to addressing the existing problems faced by the volunteers, aging or otherwise, in relation to the larger socioeconomic system. 

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

case study, 

Impact: Nonmatched 

comparison 

group

N - 

Implementation 

only

ACTION. (1984). The Effect of Foster 

Grandparents on Juvenile Offenders in 

Georgia Youth Development Centers. 

Washington, DC: ACTION. 

This report examines the effects of Foster Grandparents at Georgia Youth Development Centers (YDC) on the juvenile offenders with whom they 

worked. It studies the youths' self-esteem, their attitudes toward themselves, their institutions, and the Foster Grandparents; and the attitudes of staff 

regarding the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP). Information was collected between August 1982 and December 1983 from 106 youth at three 

YDCs (62 with Foster Grandparents and 44 without Foster Grandparents), 9 YDC staff, and 17 Foster Grandparents. Pre-test and post-test interview 

results of youth with a Foster Grandparent (experimental group) were compared to the interview results of youth without a Foster Grandparent 

(control group). The youth outcome measures used in this study were a shortened version of the Coopersmith self-esteem scale and the selfanchoring scale measuring attitudes toward the YDC and him or herself. The study found that the Foster Grandparents positively affected the youths 

'attitudes toward themselves and the YDC and to a lesser degree their self-esteem. The youth with a Foster Grandparent generally had higher posttest scores (after accounting for pre-test differences) on the outcome measures than those without a Foster Grandparent. Youth with a Foster 

Grandparent rated themselves 6% higher on the 10 point "self-anchoring scale" than youth without a Foster Grandparent, a statistically significant 

difference (mean scores of 8.8 compared to 8.2.)

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group Y

Brummel, S. W. (1984). Senior 

Companions: An unrecognized resource 

for long term care. Report prepared for . 

New York: Pride Institute.

The article provides background on the Senior Companion program – the rationale behind seeing older adults as an untapped resource - and makes 

the argument that seniors can be a link between the professional care industry and the frail elderly, allowing the elderly to remain in their homes 

longer. The article describes the Elvirita Lewis Foundation’s Senior Companion program in Soquel, California, including how Companions are 

trained and the case management approach used. Using “informal records” (Companions’ notes), the article quotes Senior Companions about the 

ways they work with clients and how the clients benefit. 

X

Implementation

N - 

Implementation 

only

Booz, Allen, & Hamilton Inc. (1985). 

National Retired Senior Volunteer 

Program Participant Impact Evaluation: 

Final report. Report prepared for 

ACTION. Office of 

Compliance/Evaluation Division. 

Washington, DC: ACTION. 

A study examined the long-term effects of participation in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) on participants from 20 RSVP projects 

nationwide. Three rounds of interviews were conducted. In Round 1, 750 volunteers were interviewed: 595 veteran volunteers and 155 new 

volunteers. In Round 2, 792 volunteers were intereviewed: 175 new volunteers and 617 volunteers from the earlier round. In Round 3, 677 

volunteers were reinterviewed. Data from these interviews were then compared to data collected from the General Accounting Office's longitudinal 

study entitled "The Well-Being of Older People in Cleveland, Ohio." The RSVP was found to appeal to a broad spectrum of the American public. 

Compared with the Cleveland cohort, RSVP attracts a healthier group of senior citizens, and continued involvement in RSVP is associated with 

improved or stable levels of functioning. Continued program participation is associated with participants' enhanced sense of well-being and outlook 

on life and may stave off the effects of aging. RSVP volunteers also provide meaningful services and contribute indirectly to the national work force. 

Program effectiveness may be increased by lowering first-year attrition rates. (Appendixes to this report include a glossary, a detailed description of 

the study design and methodology, sample attrition data, panel composition data tabulations, information on the reliability and validity of the study 

scales, levels-of-functioning data tabulations, and psychological/sociological scale results.) (MN)

https://www.worldcat.org/title/national-retired-senior-volunteer-program-participant-impact-evaluation-finalreport/oclc/966972779&referer=brief_results

X

Impact

QED: Groups 

formed by 

matching - nonPSM 

(longitudinal) Y

SRA Technologies. (1985). Senior 

Companion Program impact evaluation: 

Final report. Report prepared for 

ACTION. Evaluation Division. 

Washington, DC: ACTION.

In 1979, ACTI0N initiated a Five-Year evaluation of the SCP. This evaluation is based on data collected through interviews with four types of 

respondents: (1) active Senior Companions, (2) persons on the Waiting list to become Senior Companions, (3) clients currently receiving the 

services of a Senior Companion, and (4) persons on the Waiting list to be come clients. Three rounds of data collection were conducted at Senior 

Companion projects located in six sites. SC volunteers showed improvements in economic circumstances and mental health functioning and were 

more able to adjust to health limitations than those on the waiting list. Furthermore, clients who received SCP services had more stable social 

resources, increased adjustment to health limitations, and slower increases in areas of serious impairment than those on the waiting list. 

X

Impact

Nonexperimental: 

comparison 

group- Impact Y
Keller, K.L., Flattend, E.K., & Wilhite, 

B.C. (1988). Friendly Visiting as a 

Means of Informing Homebound Senior 

Citizens of Health-Related Community 

Services. Report prepared for the 

Administration on Aging and Office of 

Human Development Services. 

Department of Health, Education, and 

Welfare. New York, New York: Human 

Sciences Press.

Health-related community services designed for the senior population include delivered and congregate meals, visiting health-aides and nurses, adult 

day care and telephone and postal checks. Friendly visiting programs may prove helpful in informing homebound senior citizens of these healthrelated community services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of friendly visiting as a means of informing homebound 

senior citizens of health-related community services.

Visited homebound seniors were contrasted with homebound controls. Visiting occurred in two forms. One group received visitors from an ongoing 

friendly visiting program (VISITING AS IS) in their community and a second group received visitors who were specifically trained to convey 

community referral information (REACH). A control group received no visiting of any kind. All three groups were administered pre- and postinterviews asking their knowledge of eight community services. At the end of the twelve week program, the post-interview means of the two 

homebound visited groups did differ significantly from the mean of the unvisited controls when contrasts were made using pre-interview scores as 

the covariate, F(2,78) = 8.19 (p<.05). The homebound senior citizens visited by the REACH visitors increased their knowledge of services 

significantly more than the homebound seniors contacted by VISITING AS IS visitors F(1,53) = 7.20 (p<.01). While the simple act of being visited 

did lead to increased knowledge at the .05 level, trained visitors were able to convey such information to a greater degree (p<.01). Awareness of 

community services can be effectively transmitted by friendly visitors and improved when a program is implemented to train the visitors to meet this 

goal.

X

Impact RCT Y

Saltz, R. (1989). Research Evaluation of 

Foster Grandparent Program. 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Haworth 

Press, Inc. 

This paper describes the results of a longitudinal research paper evaluating the effect of a Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) on the personal 

development of its participants. It focuses on the hypotheses, methodology and outcome of a series of studies conducted at the Detroit Foster 

Grandparent Program, particularly as they relate to effects on the older participants. Study participants included 37 foster grandparents (aged 60–75 

yrs) and 22 controls. Assessment measures included an interview schedule, a standard IQ test, observations, health, attendance, longevity records, 

and supervisor ratings. Markedly positive effects on life-satisfaction and adjustment were found for the participants after 1 and 2 yrs of participation 

in the program and again after 7 yrs.

X

Impact

Pre-test/multiple 

post-tests 

(longitudinal) 

[Comparison 

group but need 

article to see if 

groups were 

matched] Y

ACTION Office of Policy and Planning: 

Evaluation Division. (1990). Volunteers 

as Care Givers: ACTION's National 

Long-term Care Demonstration Research 

Project - Volume III Final Impact 

Evaluation Report. Washington, DC: 

ACTION.

This report is the third and final of three reports on ACTION's National Long-Term Care Demonstration Research Project. The aim of this project 

was to determine the effects of using older volunteers as service providers for elderly persons needing long-term care. This volume, the Final Impact 

Evaluation Report, presents final evaluation data comparing the effect on volunteers and clients before and after participation in the project (relative 

to comparison groups of volunteers and clients). The demonstration project had a significiant positive impact for the volunteers in terms of economic 

resources, but there is no conclusive evidence of an impact in the areas of social resources, mental health, or physical health. The project also had a 

significant positive impact for the clients in terms of social resources. There were no measurable effects in terms of economic resources or physical 

health, and the effect of the program could not be definitively determined in terms of mental health or activities of daily living.

X

Impact

NonexperimentalComparison 

group Y

Cook, A.F. (1991). The Foster 

Grandparent Program: An analysis of 

changing trends. Report prepared for 

The Foster Grandparent Program was a federal initiative, established in 1965. Intended as a response to the poverty and isolation prevalent among 

the elderly, the program enrolled low income senior citizens and provided an hourly tax free stipend in exchange for the daily support they provided 

to targeted children. Throughout the years of program operation, there has been no systematic study of the entry level characteristics of newly 

enrolled Foster Grandparents. This would seem to be important information because the age, health and education status of the enrolled individuals 

could have some bearing on the selection of appropriate child directed activities. This paper will examine some of the entry level characteristics of 

newly enrolled Foster Grandparents and discuss the relevance of those trends to specific program management issues. A ten year span of time will 

provide the basis for the study. Results suggest that from 1980-1990 the corp of newly enrolled volunteers has become older, more handicapped and 

increasingly feminized.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Cross-sectional 

design looking at 

program 

participant 

characteristics 

over time, 

longitudinal

N - 

Implementation 

only

The Alzheimer's Association Patient and 

Family Services. (1991) Senior 

Companion Program Alzheimer's 

Association In-home Respite Care 

Demnostration. Report prepared for 

ACTION. Chicago, Illinois: Alzheimer's 

Disease and Related Disorders 

Association, Inc.

The purpose of this report is to summarize a demonstration project conducted by the Alzheimer's Association and the Senior Companion Program 

(SCP). This demonstration project, funded by two grants from ACTION to the national Alzheimer's Association, was to determine the feasibility and 

benefits of the public/private partnership between Alzheimer Association Chapters and SCPs in the delivery of in-home respite care to clients with 

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and their families. This report shows that Alzheimer care needs were dramatic, service delivery to Alzheimer clients in 

need of companion services was complex and multifaceted, and services provided by Senior Companion/Alzheimer Volunteers (SC/AV) were 

dependable and appreciated by families. The evaluation included family surveys (for those receiving respite services), SCP volunteer surveys, and 

surveys of SCP administrators/directors. 

X

Implementation/

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome) Y

Lee, C.F., & Gray, L.C.(1992). Respite 

service to family caregivers by the senior 

companion program: an urban-rural 

comparison. Report prepared for 

ACTION. 

The Senior Companion Program (SCP), a federally sponsored program, aims to enlist older volunteers to provide in-home services to the 

homebound elderly. A survey of 48 sample SCP projects providing family caregiver services reveals a distinctly different trajectory of urban and 

rural project development. In both environments, the longer a project has been in existence, the greater the number of volunteers in service. 

However, the number of clients served increases for urban projects, but not for rural projects. Relatedly, the unmet need for family caregiver 

services, the number of referrals unserved by the project, is considerably greater in rural areas. These results suggest that because of factors unique 

to rural areas, the expansion of clientele may be more restricted in rural settings compared to that in urban settings, thereby implying that rural-urban 

differences should be reflected in project planning and implementation.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Surveys

N - 

Implementation 

only

Research Triangle Institute [RTI]. (1992). 

Retired Senior Volunteer Program 

activities in alcohol and drug abuse 

prevention and education. Report 

prepared for ACTION. 

This report describes the contribution that RSVP Volunteers are making to reduce alcohol and drug abuse and the steps for starting up and managing 

a successful alcohol or drug abuse activity for RSVP Volunteers. The study used mail and telephone surveys to collect data on activities in RSVP 

Projects and Volunteer Stations. Researchers then chose three sites and activities for more intensive on-site data collection: (1) Bellingham, 

Washington, a school-based activity targeted on at-risk youth; (2) Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a prevention of prescription drug misuse by older 

adults; and (3) Elkhart, Indiana, use of Volunteers in probation services. The report concludes that RSVP Project Directors who are successful in 

other areas of programming already possess the tools for success in alcohol and drug abuse programming.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Surveys, site 

visits

N - 

Implementation 

only
Freedman, M. (1994). Seniors in 

National and Community Service: A 

Report prepared for the Commonwealth 

Fund's Americans over 55 at Work 

Program . 

National service offers an appealing vehicle for engaging senior citizens to respond to unmet needs in education, health care, public safety, the 

environment, and other essential areas. Involving seniors in national service will help alleviate the country's pressing domestic problems, enhancing 

participants' personal development, and bolstering the nation's flagging sense ofcommunity. A partial system of national service for seniors that 

began during the Kennedy administration demonstrated that seniors can provide essential community service, benefit through serving, and play an 

important role in service. Programs such as the Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companions Program have also made it clear that senior 

service is not cheap and that obstacles and questions regarding key issues related to senior service persist. Despite the strides that have been made 

during the past 30 years regarding involving seniors in national and community service, the gap between promise and practice remains substantial. 

Achieving a vision of senior service that is substantially, but not exclusively, intergenerational requires action on the following fronts: strengthen the 

three programs currently providing the vast majority of senior service opportunities, embark on a period of innovation and experimentation, and 

build infrastructure at the national and local levels.

X X X

Review/theory 

paper/implement

ation

N - 

Implementation 

only (TP)

Griffith, J.D., Powers, L.L., Rist, L.M., & 

Matheson, J.L. (1994). Evaluation of the 

SCP/AoA Joint Initiative for the 

Vulnerable Elderly Program . Report 

prepared for the Corporation for National 

and Community Service. Office of 

Evaluation and Policy Coordination. 

Washington, DC: Corporation for 

National and Community Service. 

In 1990, ACTION and the Administration on Aging (AoA) began the Joint Initiative for the Vulnerable Elderly. This program provides support to 

eleven states to provide expanded services for frail elderly in the community, with an emphasis on those aged 80 and older. The objectives of this 

three-year evaluation are to describe the program implementation, assess the ability of the grantees and sponsors to develop non-Federal support to 

continue the Joint Initiative services at the end of the three-year funding period, examine program outcomes and impacts, identify successful models 

for replication, and recommend changes to increase the impact and efficiency of the program. The evaluation uses a combination of telephone 

interviews, site visits, and analyses of data on Senior Companions and clients. The final evaluation focused on four aspects of the Joint Initiative: 

Joint Initiative projects and activities, partnerships with other agencies, development of non-Federal support, and alternative approaches to services 

and support. The findings, conclusions and recommendations are organized under these four areas. Volunteer station supervisors and companions 

reported positive impacts of SCP on clients (e.g.- help with household activities and psychological benefits) and companions (stipends, physical 

examinations, in-service training and enhanced purpose and self-esteem).

X

Implementation/

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

outcome only Y

ACTION. (1994). An evaluation report 

on the Foster Grandparent Program. 

Report prepared for the Corporation for 

National and Community Service. 

Washington, DC: ACTION. 

A comprehensive review of the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) was undertaken in order to determine its effectiveness, compliance with 

legislation, and the adequacy of oversight by the sponsoring organization. The evaluation is based on more than 40 research questions designed to 

describe program activities, determine degrees of community support, ascertain program impact, and assess factors pertinent to program 

effectiveness. Data was collected via mail and telephone surveys and through site visits. Primary data were collected from a survey of the principal 

components of each FGP project: all Project Directors, and a sample of the Advisory Council members, Institutional Representatives, Station 

Supervisors, and Volunteers. Separate survey questionnaires were designed for members of each group. The following conclusions were made: (1) 

the Foster Grandparent Program is meeting its intended purposes; (2) Foster Grandparent Volunteers are primarily female from diverse racial and 

ethnic backgrounds; (3) FGP projects have varying characteristics with most operating in public and private schools, serving children between three 

and eleven years old; and (4) training and technical assistance to the FGP need to be strengthened. Seventeen tables present data.

X

Implementation/

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single Groupoutcome (post 

test) Y

Carrocio, J., Marks, L.N., Nippes, J.K., 

Pryor, J. (1996). A senior volunteer/home 

care agency national collaboration: 

assessment of the partnership. Report 

prepared for 

This research has focused on a partnership between a private sector home health care entity, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) 

and the public sector Senior Companion Program (SCP) of the domestic volunteer agency now a part of the Corporation for National and 

Community Service. This research examined the partnerships between the two agencies in 18 local demonstration sites in order to assess how a 

home health agency worked. Specific areas reviewed were administration of the partnership, communication patterns between the agencies, areas of 

conflict, the future of the liaison, and how effectively volunteer performance matched original expectations.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

case studies

N - 

Implementation 

only

Strang, W., Von Glatz, A., & Stolzberg, 

S. (1997). Retired and Senior Volunteer 

Program, Summer Evaluation Report . 

Report prepared for the Corporation for 

National Service. 

This summary report highlights findings of a study of RSVP conducted in late 1995 and early 1996. The study had three objectives. CNS is required 

to evaluate all its programs regularly. This report highlights findings of a study of RSVP conducted in late 1995 and early 1996. The report (1) 

Collects descriptive information on current practices from RSVP projects, stations, and volunteers. (2) Assesses the satisfaction of RSVP program 

stakeholders, including project directors, station supervisors, and volunteers. (3) Assess the direct accomplishments of RSVP volunteers in their 

communities and at their stations. The primary source of data for the study was a nationally representative sample of 200 RSVP projects. The 200 

project directors were surveyed by mail, as was a nationally representative subsample of 637 volunteer station supervisors from the sampled 

projects. A further nationally representative subsample of 1,055 RSVP volunteers from the sampled stations was surveyed by telephone.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Surveys

N - 

Implementation 

only

Achatz, M. (1998). Effective practices of 

foster grandparents in Head Start Centers: 

Benefits for children, classrooms, and 

centers. Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. Washington, DC: Corporation 

for National and Community Service. 

Describes results from an in-depth qualitative evaluation (from the 1999-1997 school year) done to lay a foundation for future quantitative studies of 

FGP outcomes and impacts for children in Head Start. Six FGP projects were selected for their use of effective practices of productive roles for 

FGs. Results suggested that FGP volunteers support children's emotional well-being, self-esteem and self-efficacy, language development, cognitive 

development. Results also suggested that FGP volunteers contribute positively to the classroom and the center and the report identified 5 effective 

practices of teachers and centers that contribute to the success of FGP volunteers.

X

Implementation/o

utcome

Implementation: 

case studies, Nonexperimental: 

outcome only

N - 

Implementation 

only

Aguirre International. (1999). Retired and 

Senior Volunteer Program 

Accomplishment Report. Report prepared 

for the Corporation for National Service. 

The accomplishments described in this report were derived from the survey form entitled, “Meeting Community Needs: A Survey of the Retired and 

Senior Volunteer Program’s (RSVP) Activities, Inputs and Accomplishments.” First, a process was undertaken to identify the universe of volunteer 

stations belonging to all 752 projects. The goal of the sample was to randomly and efficiently select a portion of the population or universe under 

study in such a manner that the characteristics of the sample had a very high probability of accurately reflecting the characteristics of the population 

or universe. Utilizing a random sampling procedure with probabilities proportional to the volunteer station size, 1,381 RSVP stations were selected 

for the study. 

X

Other: Outputs

Other: Outputs - 

Surveys

N - 

Implementation 

only
Aguirre International. (1999). Senior 

Companion Program Accomplishment 

Report . Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National Service. 

This report presents the findings from the first survey on the accomplishments of the Senior Companion Program (SCP). This report summarizes 

the community service accomplishments from all Senior Companion Projects for the period between July 1, 1997, and June 30, 1998. The 

information reported here was collected by Aguirre International on the Senior Companion Program accomplishment survey. The survey sample 

consisted of a random selection of 1,282 community organizations serving as volunteer stations and representing all 190 SCP projects. The 

accomplishments are grouped within four of the Corporation for National Service’s program emphasis areas: Health and Nutrition, Human Needs 

Services, Community and Economic Development, and Public Safety. The list, while both long and diverse, is not exhaustive, not every 

accomplishment has been captured. Nevertheless, the list summarizes the major accomplishments for the Senior Companion Program.

X

Other: Outputs

Other: Outputs - 

Surveys

N - 

Implementation 

only

Aguirre International. (1999). Foster 

Grandparent Program Accomplishment 

Report . Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National Service. 

The accomplishments described in this report were derived from the survey form entitled, “Meeting Community Needs: A Survey of the Foster 

Grandparent Program’s (FGP) Activities, Inputs and Accomplishments.” First, a process was undertaken to identify the universe of stations 

belonging to all 306 projects. 7,851 community organizations serving as volunteer stations were identified. The goal of the sample was to 

randomly and efficiently select a portion of the population or universe under study in such a manner that the characteristics of the sample had a very 

high probability of accurately reflecting the characteristics of the population or universe. Utilizing a random sampling procedure with probabilities 

proportional to the number of volunteers serving at each station, 1,378 Foster Grandparent volunteer stations were selected for the study. 

X

Other: Outputs

Other: Outputs - 

Surveys

N - 

Implementation 

only

Thomas, C., & Silva, P. (2002). Senior 

Corps Futures Study Final Report. 

Report prepared for the Corporation For 

National and Community Service. 

This study was conducted between July 2000 and July 2001, through literature reviews, through telephone interviews with national experts, program 

directors and state directors and through focus group discussions at three regional conferences of program. There was substantial agreement among 

those consulted on the major recommendations of the study including: (1) increase project budgets to hire more staff, pay for travel, (2) allow 

programs more flexibility in spending their grants, (3) raise the income guidelines for volunteer eligibility, (4) increase the stipends for volunteers, 

(5) reimburse volunteers for the expenses they incur, (6) allow volunteers more flexibility in time commitments, (6) create new working 

arrangements for volunteers, (7) eliminate age-biased terminology, (8) re-emphasize traditional concerns for the welfare of volunteers, (9) design 

more in-depth training for volunteers, (10) encourage project directors to voice their opinions, (11) publicize the programs, nation-wide, (12) 

increase the pay of project directors.

X X X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Interviews, focus 

groups

N - 

Implementation 

only

McGowan, T. G. (2002). The National 

Study of Foster Grandparent Program 

Directors: Identifying Effective Practices, 

Project Barriers and Needs. Report 

prepared for the National Association of 

Foster Grandparent Program Directors. 

This study was commissioned by the National Association of Foster Grandparent Program Directors (NAFGPD) in order to "check the pulse" of 

project directors and provide insight regarding project barriers and needs. The study was designed as a triangulated research project consisting of (1) 

a self-administered, survey questionnaire that was mailed to FGP project directors nationwide, (2) a key informant discussion of survey findings 

with members of the NAFGPD Board of Directors, and (3) five focus group discussions with project directors selected from sub-groups formed on 

the basis of the survey and key informant discussion findings.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Survey, 

interviews, focus 

groups

N - 

Implementation 

only

Dulin, P.L., & Hill, R.D. (2003). 

Relationships between Altruistic Activity 

and Positive and Negative Affect among 

Low-Income Older Adult Service 

Providers. Report prepared for . 

Alabama: EBSCO Publishing.

Self-reported altruistic activity was examined as a predictor of positive and negative affective states among a sample of 115 low-income older adults 

who were actively providing services to others within a federally subsidized service delivery program (Foster Grandparents and Senior 

Companions). Results indicated that altruistic activity was predictive of positive, but not negative affect. It was found that altruistic activity was a 

significant predictor of positive affect after controlling for relevant demographic variables including social support and income. The theoretical and 

clinical implications of this research are discussed.

X X

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome)

N - Not 

evaluation

Rook, K.S., & Sorkin, D.H. (2003). 

Fostering social ties through a volunteer 

role Implications for older-adults' 

psychological health. Report prepared for 

the National Institute on Aging. 

Amityville, New York: Baywood 

Publishing Co., Inc. 

This study examined the effects on older adults’ psychological health of participation in a volunteer role that afforded opportunities to form 

friendships with age peers and to express nurturance toward another person. Access to these important social provisions was expected, in turn, to 

contribute to greater self-esteem, less loneliness, and less depression. The study hypotheses were tested by comparing older adults who served as 

foster grandparents to a

developmentally disabled child (N = 52) with older adults in two comparison groups (Ns = 69, 59). Three assessments were conducted over a twoyear period. The analyses revealed that the foster grandparents exhibited a significant

increase in the number of new ties formed, but participation in the Foster Grandparent Program was not associated with the expected gains in 

emotional health. Explanations for the limited findings and implications for future research are discussed.

X

Impact

Experimental 

(RCT) Y

RTI International. (2003). Final Report of 

Senior Companion Quality of Care 

Evaluation. Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. Washington, DC: Corporation 

for National and Community Service.

This report is the final product of the Senior Companion Program Quality of Care Evaluation, prepared by RTI International for the Corporation for 

National and Community Service’s Office of Evaluation. The report presents the study’s findings about the role and value of senior companions at 

volunteer stations and in their communities. The report includes results from a survey of volunteer station supervisors (administered in 2000) 

designed to examine the role and value of the SCP. The report also includes quasi-experimental study (conducted at 3 time points from 1999-2002) 

with one treatment group and at least one comparison group for clients and family/caregiver. The client comparison groups included (a) those newly 

placed on the waiting list for Senior Companion Program services and (b) those newly receiving other volunteer station services (but not Senior 

Companion Program services) at a volunteer station. The family comparison group included family members/caregivers of those newly placed on the 

waiting list for Senior Companion Program services. Finally, the study also included results from a client survey comparing SCP clients to those on 

the waiting list and/or those receiving other agency services. SCP clients reported improvements in health status, functional status, life satisfaction, 

decreasing depressive symptoms, needs met for special transportation and personal care, and satisfaction with time spent with the SC vs other 

health/social service in-home providers at the three-month follow-up relative to those on the waiting list and/or those receiving other agency 

services. 

Y

Implementation/

Outcome (station 

study); Impact 

(client and family 

member studies)

Nonexperimental: 

Single grouppost-test 

(outcome) 

(station study); 

QED: Groups 

formed by 

matching - nonPSM (client and 

family member 

studies) Y
ETR Associates. (2003). Profile of Senior 

Corps Faith-Based Partnerships. Report 

prepared for Corporation for National and 

Community Service. 

In response to President George W. Bush's 2001 executive order acknowledging the value of faith-based organizations, the Corporation for National 

and Community Service launched an assessment of the extent and nature of volunteer activities at faith-based organizations serving as Senior Corps 

volunteer stations. The Senior Corps faith-based assessment had two components. The first component was a mailed self-administered assessment to 

gather data on the number and type of faith-based organizations collaborating with Senior Corps projects and the services that Senior Corps 

volunteers offer at those organizations. The second component of the assessment was a phone interview of a small sample of project Directors to 

gather information on the histories, challenges and benefits, and differences and similarities of working with faith-based organizations. The Senior 

Corps faith-based assessment documented that the majority of Senior Corps projects had longstanding agreements with faith-based organizations 

serving as volunteer stations. By and large, Senior Corps project Directors described few to no differences between working with faith-based 

organizations and non faith-based organizations and viewed such collaborations as beneficial in accomplishing project goals.

X X X

Descriptive or 

Implementation

Implementation: 

survey, 

interviews

N - 

Implementation 

only

Westat. (2005). Technical Report of the 

Foster Grandparent Mentoring Service 

Recipient Study . Report prepared for the 

Corporate for National and Community 

Service. Washington, DC: Corporation 

for National and Community Service. 

For the current study described in this report, we collected data on outputs, immediate outcomes, and end outcomes of mentoring activities of the 

Foster Grandparent Program from a representative sample of the organizations in which the FGs serve. This report describes the findings from the 

Foster Grandparent Mentoring Service Recipient survey which used a stratified systematic sample of service stations that included mentoring as a 

service category. The survey included questions on the activities performed by FGs and the impact they have on the children they served, the project 

director's ratings of the effectiveness of FGP volunteers in comparison with non-FGP volunteers, and overall ratings of the capabilities and reliability 

of FGs. FGP participants were listed as either more effective or as effective as other volunteers and a majority of stations said that young and 

elementary school children showed a fair amount or a lot of improvement in their academic performance after working with a volunteer.

X

Implementation/

Outcome

Implementation: 

Interviews. 

Outcome: Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome) Y

Westat. (2005). DRAFT: Public Report 

on the Results of the 2005 Independent 

Living Survey of the Senior Companion 

Program. Report prepared for the 

Corporate for National and Community 

Service. Washington, DC: Corporation 

for National and Community Service. 

This report summarizes the findings of the 2005 Independent Living Survey, a service recipient survey of the Senior Companion Program (SCP). 

Data used in this report were gathered by talking with service recipients in a national telephone survey. The survey explored the types of services 

performed by SCs, what effect these services have on the recipients, and the clients' satisfaction with their individual SCs and the program generally. 

It also asked respondents to describe their health, where and how they lived, and collected demographic information. Results indicated that clients 

viewed SCP services as very important and overall were very satisfied with the program. 

X

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome) Y

Pigatti, L.A. (2005). Retired Senior 

Volunteers AARP Tax Aide Program 

evaluation, Activities, Adaptation & 

Aging , 29:3, 21-31, DOI: 

10.1300/J016v29n03_02.

The purpose of this article is to assess the success of the AARP Tax Aide program as it relates to training older volunteers to complete income tax 

returns and develop technology skills that will enable them to use the Tax Wise software and e-file returns. In the past few years, the program has 

grown in visibility in our rural communities, leading to successful results in terms of completing and submitting tax returns. An area of needed 

growth for the Tax Aide program has been implementation and greater utilization of electronic completion of tax returns and the e-filing system. 

Our agency implemented a training program to provide older volunteers with skills necessary to develop technological expertise. This article 

explains the training provided and successful outcomes achieved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

interviews

N - 

Implementation 

only

Peacock, J.R., & O'Quin, J. (2006). 

Higher Education and Foster Grandparent 

Programs: Exploring Mutual Benefits. 

The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which programs within institutions of higher education and Foster Grandparent Programs can 

interact to their mutual benefit. Given federal and state initiatives to develop linkages between institutions of higher education and community 

service sites, mutual benefits exist at the program level for both institutions of higher education and Foster Grandparent Programs. At the individual 

level, mutual benefits exist for both students in academic programs and senior volunteers. We propose that universities and colleges, including 

community colleges, and various programs within these institutions of higher education can beneficially interface with Foster Grandparent Programs 

through intergenerational service-learning programming. As such, we suggest ideas for intergenerational service-learning projects across a wide 

array of disciplines. Personal communication with Foster Grandparent Program directors across the nation is used to provide information and unique 

case examples in developing linkages between Foster Grandparent Programs and institutions of higher education.

X

Other: theory

N - 

Implementation 

only (TP)

Peacock, J.R., & Flythe, M.K., & Jones, 

K. (2006) A Service-learning 

collaboration: A graduate gerontology 

program and a foster grandparent 

program, Educational Gerontology , 32: 

335–349, DOI: 

10.1080/03601270600564096.

Historically, American institutions of higher learning have embraced community service as a necessary component of students’ learning experiences. 

Recent initiatives through the Corporation for National and Community Service emphasize the idea that civic responsibility is an important element 

of an adequate education at all levels of learning. In this article we discuss the feasibility of integrating a graduate gerontology program and a Foster 

Grandparent Program. The integration is designed in such a way that, beyond sustaining the Foster Grandparent Program and introducing students to 

practical field experiences, greater community needs can be met. Ideally, positive outcomes will be achieved through such a collaborative effort, and 

will affect change at the individual, community, policy, and social structural levels.

X

Other: theory

N - 

Implementation 

only (TP)

Butler, S. S. (2006). Evaluating the Senior 

Companion Program: A Mixed-Method 

Approach. Journal of Gerontological 

Social Work , 47:1-2, 45-70, doi: 

10.1300/J083v47n01_05.

This article reports on a mixed-method assessment of the Senior Companion Program (SCP), a federal program which provides volunteer 

opportunities with small stipends to low-income older adults, 60 years of age and older, who provide companionship and offer assistance to frail 

community elders. Through four standardized scales and open-ended questions regarding the impact of the SCP in their lives, 34 Senior Companion 

volunteers and 32 of their clients were interviewed. Informants reported relatively large social networks and low levels of depression and loneliness. 

Thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed the benefits of the program for both volunteers and their clients. Themes emerging from the rich 

narratives included: companionship, independence, reduced anxiety, giving, and rewards. The article concludes with a suggested brief evaluation 

instrument that directors of SCP programs, and other similar programs, can use to collect data on the impact of their program-something that is 

required, but often difficult to do. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

X

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome)

Y
Butler, S. S., MSW, & Eckart, D. (2007). 

Civic Engagement Among Older Adults 

in a Rural Community, Journal of 

Community Practice , 15:3, 77-98, DOI:

10.1300/J125v15n03_05.

This article presents a case study of how an elder-helping-elder volunteer program-the Senior Companion Program promotes civic engagement 

among older adults in a rural community. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 individuals in the community to assess the impact of the 

program for individual elders and the community at large. Three overarching themes emerged from the narrative data: Maintaining Community, 

Filling Gaps in the Service System, and Government Should Do More for Elders. These themes are described using research participant quotes. The 

article concludes with study implications for community practitioners including advocacy for program expansion.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

case studies

N - 

Implementation 

only

Shelton, L., Dietz, N., Nicholas, B., & 

Jennings, S. (2008). Senior Corps 

Reports. Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Services. Washington, DC: Corporation 

for National and Community Services. 

In order to assess the outcomes of both the Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent Programs, and to determine the opportunities for expanding 

the number of Baby Boomers who participate in RSVP, the Corporation for National and Community Service conducted a series of surveys between 

2004 and 2006. First, the Senior Companion Program surveys were conducted among the clients who receive services from the Senior 

Companions. From these surveys researchers determined how Senior Companions contribute to the web of resources that help clients live 

independently. Second, the Foster Grandparent Program survey was conducted with station supervisors, mostly school principals or administrators 

of school-based programs, to gauge the impact that Foster Grandparents have on the young people they serve. And finally, the RSVP surveys were 

conducted to assess the landscape of Baby Boomers who participate in the program and to provide a possible roadmap for recruitment. Researchers 

investigated the demographics, volunteer history, and volunteer interest of Baby Boomers in RSVP, in hopes of determining any key differences 

between the RSVP Baby Boomers and other Baby Boomers who volunteer. A large majority of SC clients report that visits with their SC are "very" 

important to the, and that Companions help them to maintain or improve their quality of life. Also, SC clients are mostly satisfied with the services 

that are provided through the program. 

X X X Implementation/

Outcome

Outcome: Nonexperimental - 

single group -

outcome (posttest). 

Implementation: 

Surveys

Y

Evans, G., & Carnagie, L. (2009). New 

York City's Foster Grandparent 

Program: A Model of Older Volunteer 

Managemen t. Report prepared for . New 

York:Springer Publishing Company.

It is generally acknowledged that older persons represent a vast- and largely untapped-volunteer resource for America's communities (Reinventing 

Aging, 2003). It is also now axiomatic that older people need to feel socially useful and productive in order to age well. Developing opportunities 

for seniors to serve their communities is, therefore, clearly in the interest of everyone concerned. This article will discuss the National Foster 

Grandparent Program (FGP) to draw some lessons about win-win older volunteer program design. It will also review New York City's Foster 

Grandparent Program, administered by the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA), as a model of effective implementation.

X

Implementation 

Implementation: 

case study or 

descriptive

N - 

Implementation 

only

Tan, E., Harding, V., Spera, C., & 

DeGraff, K.M. (2012). Senior Corps -- 

RSVP: Disaster Services and Community 

Resilience During 2012 Colorado 

Wildfires, Public Policy & Aging Report , 

2016, Vol. 00, No. 00, 1–4

doi:10.1093/ppar/prw011.

This study looked at how Americans age 55 and older can also be part of community solutions to disasters through National Service programs such 

as RSVP. IT focuses specifically on how Senior Corps volunteers were engaged in responding to the 2012 wildfires in Jefferson, El Paso, and 

Larimer Counties in Colorado.

The study found that: (1) RSVP grantees can effectively recruit, train, and deploy volunteers in disaster service-specific roles and in dual benefit 

roles in support of community resilience (CR). (2) The vast majority of volunteers who served during the wildfires served at their routine volunteer 

stations in a dual benefit role in support of CR. (3) The majority of hours served by RSVP volunteers during the wildfires were served by a relatively 

small group of volunteers with disaster-specific skills; this example reinforces how traditional disaster preparedness complements CR. (4) 

Experience with traditional disaster service activity, volunteer coordination capacity, and established service placement relationships may also have 

been important in the Denver and Larimer County RSVP Projects capacity to redeploy volunteers in support of CR.

It should be noted, however, that RSVP grantees had difficulty collecting data on the number of unduplicated people who served in the midst of a 

disaster. RSVP grantees will likely need continued technical assistance to collect impact and other data in future disaster response settings.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

case study or 

descriptive

N - 

Implementation 

only

Van Orden, K.A., Stone, D.M., Rowe, J., 

McIntosh, W.L., Podgorski, C., & 

Conwell, Y. (2013). The Senior 

Connection: Design and rationale of a 

randomized trial of peer companionship 

to reduce suicide risk in later life, 

Contemporary Clinical Trials, 117-126, 

DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2013.03.003.

There is a pressing public health need to find interventions that reduce suicide risk in later life.Psychiatric and physical illness, functional decline, 

and social factors place seniors at risk for suicide. Reflecting this body of evidence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has 

identified the promotion and strengthening of social connectedness, between and within the individual, family, community, and broader societal 

levels, as a key strategy for suicide prevention. The Senior Connection, a randomized trial of peer companionship for older adults, is described here, 

with an emphasis on the most novel features of the study design—grounding in a psychological theory of suicide and intervening at an early stage in 

the suicide risk trajectory by linking primary care patients with the Aging Services Provider Network. 

X

Impact RCT

N - Design 

Report

Nerino, A. (2013). Senior Corps RSVP 

2013 GARP: Exploring Why Some 

Organizations Did Not Apply . Report 

prepared for the Corporation for National 

and Community Service. 

Following the most recent release of its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the number of applications to the 2013 RSVP grant competition 

was lower than Senior Corps program staff anticipated. Of the 292 individual funding opportunities in the NOFO, 62 had no applicants, and 215 

had only 1 applicant. Although 512 potential applicants submitted letters of intent, only 230 completed the application process.

X

Implementation 

Implementation: 

survey

N - 

Implementation 

only

McDonald, T.W., Chown, E.L., Tabb, 

J.E., Schaeffer, A.K., & Howard, E.K.M. 

(2013). The Impact of Volunteering on 

Seniors' Health and Quality of Life: An 

Assessment of the Retired and Senior 

Volunteer Program. Psychology, 4, 283-

290. doi: 10.4236/psych.2013.43A042.

Past research suggests that senior citizens often face challenges related to deteriorating physical and mental health, and the quality of their lives may 

suffer as a result. Past research also suggests that volunteering can improve the health and quality of life for seniors. In the present study, 451 

volunteers enrolled in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) completed surveys including questions regarding their volunteer 

experiences and how these experiences have affected their health and quality of life. The results suggest that volunteering through RSVP is 

associated with improvements in health and quality of life across a variety of dimensions. Furthermore, these improvements may be particularly 

greater for women, current volunteers, and older seniors. These findings may help guide interventions designed to enhance the health and well-being 

of senior citizens in a variety of settings.

X

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome) Y
Pratt, D., Lovegrove, P., Birmingham, C., 

Lombas, L., Vicinanza, N., Georges, A., 

& Gabbard, S. (2014). SCP Independent 

Living Performance Measurement 

Survey: Process, Rationale, Results, and 

Recommnedations. Report prepared for 

the Corporation for National and 

Community Service. North Bethesda, 

MD: JBS International, Inc. 

The Senior Companion Program (SCP) Independent Living Study is an important initiative undertaken by the Corporation for National and 

Community Service (CNCS) to assess the effectiveness of Senior Corps Programs and to build grantee capacity to contribute to the evidence base 

for informed decision-making and allocation of resources. CNCS’s goal is to increase the impact of national service in communities served by 

CNCS-supported programs. The data gathered through this study will assist CNCS to begin assessing the performance of SCP at the national level 

using output and outcome measures. The specific outputs of interest under Goal 1 are the amount of SCP -supported independent living and respite 

services received, and the percent of homebound or older adults and individuals with disabilities and their caregivers that received CNCS-supported 

services who report having increased social ties and perceived social support. 

This report presents the results and findings from the client and caregiver surveys to assess clients’ and caregivers’ experiences and perceptions of 

program benefits. The report also discusses grantees’ experience in administering the survey, including their use of technical assistance. The data 

presented include the survey response rate and an analysis using several statistical techniques to assess the reliability and validity of the survey data. 

Clients and caregivers expressed satisfaction with the SCP, and program participants reported high rates of social support and self-efficacy. 

X

Outcome 

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome) Y

Allen, R. S., (2014). Can Senior 

Volunteers Deliver Reminiscence and 

Creative Activity Interventions? Results of 

the Legacy Intervention Family 

Enactment Randomized Controlled Trial. 

Journal of Pain and Symptom 

Managemen, 48, 590-601. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.20

13.11.012.

Context. Palliative care patients and their family caregivers may have a foreshortened perspective of the time left to live, or the expectation of the 

patient’s death in the near future. Patients and caregivers may report distress in physical, psychological, or existential/spiritual realms. Objectives. To 

conduct a randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of retired senior volunteers (RSVs) in delivering a reminiscence and creative 

activity intervention aimed at alleviating palliative care patient and caregiver distress. Methods. Of the 45 dyads that completed baseline 

assessments, 28 completed postintervention and 24 completed follow-up assessments. The intervention group received three home visits by RSVs; 

control group families received three supportive telephone calls by the research staff. Measures included symptom assessment and associated 

burden, depression, religiousness/spirituality, and meaning in life. Results. Patients in the intervention group reported a significantly greater 

reduction in frequency of emotional symptoms (P 1⁄4 0.02) and emotional symptom bother (P 1⁄4 0.04) than the control group, as well as improved 

spiritual functioning. Family caregivers in the intervention group were more likely than control caregivers to endorse items on the Meaning of Life 

Scale (P 1⁄4 0.02). Only improvement in intervention patients’ emotional symptom bother maintained at follow-up after discontinuing RSV contact (P 

1⁄4 0.024). Conclusion. Delivery of the intervention by RSVs had a positive impact on palliative care patients’ emotional symptoms and burden and 

caregivers’ meaning in life. Meaningful prolonged engagement with palliative care patients and caregivers, possibly through alternative modes of 

treatment delivery such as continued RSV contact, may be necessary for maintenance of therapeutic effects.

X

Impact RCT Y

Georges, A., Gabbard, S., & Kranjac, 

A.W. (2015). First Report of the National 

Evaluation of RSVP. Report prepared for 

the Corporation for National and 

Community Service . North Bethesda, 

MD: JBS International, Inc. 

The current report describes the characteristics of RSVP volunteers, including how volunteers are distributed across CNCS’s performance measure 

categories, and how volunteers allocated their time to the service activities across the performance measure categories. Specifically, this report 

addresses the following questions: (1) What are the demographic and background characteristics of RSVP volunteers? (2) What types of service 

activities do RSVP volunteers engaged in? (3) How much time do RSVP volunteers dedicate to their primary service activity? (4) Are there 

differences in volunteers’ engagement in service activities by gender, age, and length of service in the RSVP program? The sample of 1,499 

volunteers was drawn from 33 RSVP grantees that reported Periodic Progress Report (PPR) data in April 2013. JBS selected the sample of 

volunteers using a two-stage stratified probability proportionate to size (PPS) method. The size measure was based on the number of unduplicated 

RSVP volunteers. The first stage of sampling sampled the 33 grantees using PPS within each of three strata, which was based on the number of 

unduplicated volunteers in that stratum. All 33 RSVP grantees participated in the study. The second stage sampled the 1,499 volunteers drawn from 

the lists of volunteers provided by the 33 grantees. There were 849 volunteers that completed the survey, yielding an overall response rate of 57 

percent. Data collection began in December 2014 and ended in July 2015. 

X

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

post-test 

(outcome)

N - 

Implementation 

only

Ulsperger, J. S., McElroy, J., Robertson, 

H., & Ulsperger, K. (2015). Senior 

Companion Program Volunteers: 

Exploring Experiences, Transformative 

Rituals, and Recruitment/Retention 

Issues.The Qualitative Report , 20(9), 

1458-1475. Retrieved from 

https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol20/iss9/9

Senior Companion Programs (SCPs) help the homebound elderly. They operate through local Area Agencies on

Aging, but any nonprofit institution can apply for funding and operate a SCP. Program volunteers are 55 and older.

They visit qualified elderly clients, which includes people who do not have the ability to fully care for themselves.

Volunteers provide social interaction to clients, but they also provide a minimal level of services, such as grocery

shopping, light housekeeping, and respite for caregivers. Examining the experiences of volunteers in these programs

can help us better understand why actively engaging with others is important as we age. It can also help us establish a

knowledge base that aids in our understanding of how to recruit and retain senior volunteers. This article uses data

gathered from phenomenologically based, qualitative in-depth interviews of 10 SCP volunteers. Focusing on volunteer

experiences, it uses structural ritualization theory to analyze various volunteer activities, which the research considers

ritualized symbolic practices. It also considers how transformative rituals within a SCP impact volunteerism, and it

provides recommendations on how to increase SCP volunteer recruitment and retain volunteers. The article concludes

with suggestions for future research.

X

Implementation Other: interviews

N - 

Implementation 

only

JBS International. (2015). Type of 

Service Activity and Perceived Health 

Benefits from Volunteering: Preliminary 

Evidence from the National Evaluation of 

RSVP Volunteers. Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. North Bethesda, MD: JBS 

International, Inc. 

The 2014 RSVP Volunteer Survey is a cross-sectional representative survey of volunteers aged 55 and older. There were 849 volunteers that 

completed the survey. The survey measures demographic characteristics, type of service activities, and health. Volunteers’ health was measured 

using self-assessment questions related to self-efficacy, social and emotional loneliness. The volunteers that completed the survey engaged in one or 

more of the eight possible service activities: Disaster Services, Education, Environment Stewardship, Economic Opportunity, Healthy Futures, 

Veterans and Military Families, Capacity Building, and Community Priorities. CNCS categorizes the eight service activities into three categories: 

Primary Focus Area, Capacity Building, and Community Priorities. CNCS classifies activities under Primary Focus Area and Capacity Building as 

national priority for the purpose of performance measurement activities to meet the goals set in CNCS’s 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. The results 

presented in this report support the findings of previous research that there is a significant relationship between health and type of volunteer service 

activity. For future research of RSVP volunteers, the report presents calculation from a statistical power analysis that informs the sample size 

required to explore how health outcomes might differ based on the volunteer’s participation in specific service activity.

X

Implementation/o

utcome Y 
Azuero, C.B., Durkin, D.W., Kvale, E., 

Csikai, E.L., Shin, H.J., Burgio, L.D., 

Parmelee, P.A., & Allen, R.S. (2016). "It 

Was Very Rewarding for Me...": Senior 

Volunteers' Experiences With 

Implementing a Reminiscence and 

Creative Activity Intervention, 

Gerontologist , 2016, Vol. 56, No. 2, 

357–367, DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnu167

Purpose of the Study: To describe the experience of recruiting, training, and retaining retired senior volunteers (RSVs) as interventionists delivering 

a successful reminiscence and creative activity intervention to community-dwelling palliative care patients and their caregivers. Design and 

Methods: A community-based participatory research framework involved Senior Corps RSV programs. Recruitment meetings and feedback groups 

yielded interested volunteers, who were trained in a 4-hr session using role plays and real-time feedback. Qualitative descriptive analysis identified 

themes arising from: (a) recruitment/feedback groups with potential RSV interventionists; and (b) individual interviews with RSVs who delivered 

the intervention. Results: Themes identified within recruitment/feedback groups include questions about intervention process, concerns about patient 

health, positive perceptions of the intervention, and potential characteristics of successful interventionists. Twelve RSVs achieved 89.8% 

performance criterion in treatment delivery. Six volunteers worked with at least one family and 100% chose to work with additional families. Salient 

themes identified from exit interviews included positive and negative aspects of the experience, process recommendations, reactions to the 

Interventionist Manual, feelings arising during work with patient/caregiver participants, and personal reflections. Volunteers reported a strong desire 

to recommend the intervention to others as a meaningful volunteer opportunity. Implications: RSVs reported having a positive impact on palliative 

care dyads and experiencing personal benefit via increased meaning in life. Two issues require further research attention: (a) further translation of 

this cost-effective mode of treatment delivery for palliative dyads and (b) further characterization of successful RSVs and the long-term impact on 

their own physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning.

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Descriptive, 

participatory 

research

N - 

Implementation 

only

Tan, E.J., Georges, A., Gabbard, S.M., 

Pratt, D.J., Nerino, A., Roberts, A.S., 

Wrightsman, S.M., & Hyde, M. (2016). 

The 2013-2014 Senior Corps Study: 

Foster Grandparents and Senior 

Companions. Public Policy & Aging 

Report, 2016, Vol. 26, No. 3, 88–95, doi: 

10.1093/ppar/prw016.

The 2013–2014 Senior Corps Study (Senior Corps Study) provides, for the first time ever, a census of Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions. 

First, the paper examines the income, race, and ethnic composition of Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions to test whether both FGP and 

SCP have successfully recruited and retained a diverse group of low-income volunteers. Second, the paper compares the demographic and 

socioeconomic characteristics between volunteers in FGP and SCP. Third, the instrument used in the Senior Corps Study replicated survey questions 

from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) making it possible to compare the self-reported health, functional status, and life satisfaction of Foster 

Grandparents and Senior Companions to similar adult volunteers and nonvolunteers in the general population. A representative sample of 8,000 

Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions was drawn from 30,860 respondents, and compared to a matched sample of volunteers and nonvolunteers from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The paper used descriptive and propensity score matching analyses to answer the research 

questions. The comparative analysis (using PSM) of Senior Corps and HRS respondents consisted of three outcome variables: self-rated health, 

mobility-associated disability, and life satisfaction. Compared to a matched sample of HRS participants, SC volunteers had a significantly lower 

prevalence of self-rated fair/poor health (p<.00001) but there were no statistical differences in the prevalence of excellent/very good health. The 

prevalence of mobility associated disability among Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions (which is higher than the prevalence among 

volunteers and lower than the prevalence in nonvolunteers in the comparison group) may provide initial evidence that the FGP and SCP are able to 

accommodate

participants with mobility-associated disability. Additionally, a higher proportion of Foster Grandparent and the Senior

Companion reported higher levels of life satisfaction compared with a similar population of volunteers and nonvolunteers in the HRS comparison 

group.

X X

Impact

QED: Groups 

formed by 

matching - PSM

Y

Georges, A., Fung, W., Liang, J., Smith, 

J., Pratt, D., Sum, C., Birmingham, C., & 

Gabbard, S. (2017). Does the Senior 

Companion Respite Service Matter for 

the Health and Well-being of Caregivers? 

Report prepared for the Corporation for 

National and Community Service. North 

Bethesda, MD: JBS International, Inc. 

The final analysis sample consisted of 56 caregivers who completed both the baseline and follow-up surveys. The report used descriptive analysis to 

examine the type of services caregivers received, the number of hours the Senior Companion provided respite support, the alignment between 

expectations of respite services and the services received, and satisfaction with respite services. In addition, the analysis compared change in 

caregivers’ self-rated health and well-being, and also compared Senior Corps caregivers to caregivers in the general population to help ascertain 

how change in health and well-being after receiving a year of respite support compared to other group of adult caregivers in the general population. 

Both groups of caregivers were equally satisfied with their SC. A higher percentage of those in the high level need group reported SCP exceeded 

their expectations, whereas a higher percentage of those in the moderate need group reported SCP met their expectations. Caregivers' perception of 

their health and well-being improved, and almost half of caregivers showed improvement in health at follow-up. Many caregivers also showed 

improvements in being socially connected, and reported fewer number of depressive symptoms. 

X

Impact

QED: Difference 

in Differences

Y

Guardians of Honor, LLC. (2017). Senior 

Corps Focus Groups Thematic Analysis 

Report . Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. 

The focus groups engaged 57 staff members from Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) projects, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) 

projects, and Senior Companion Program (SCP) projects... The purpose of the Senior Corps Focus Groups was to gather feedback and inform 

planning on specific topics of interest as Senior Corps moves into the next administration. CNCS plans to use information and opinions of focus 

group participants to develop recommendations and strategies to address issues discussed... Each focus group participated in a total of five sessions, 

one session dedicated to each of the following topics: (1) Performance measurement: what may increase projects’ abilities to reach outcomes? (2) 

Recruitment: what barriers keep projects from recruiting diverse participants? (3) Innovation: what may increase innovative project design? (4) 

Incentives: what strategies may help FGP/SCP sponsoring orgs contribute up to $0.35 to reach $3.00 in stipends in absence of federal appropriation 

increase? Or, what strategies may help RSVP sponsoring organizations increase contributions to cost reimbursements? (5) Expanding Partnerships: 

what strategies may promote increased interconnection with natural or innovative partners?

X X X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Focus groups

N - 

Implementation 

only
Hood, S., Lu, Y.Y., Jenkins K., Brown, 

E.R., Beaven, J., Brown, S.A., Hendrie, 

H.C., & Austrom, M.G. (2018). 

Exploration of Pereived Psychosocial 

Benefits of Senior Companion Program 

Participation Among Urban-Dwelling, 

Low-Income Older Adult Women 

Volunteers. Innovation in Aging, 2(2). 

https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igy018.

Background: As the older adult population increases, it is imperative to increase older adults' opportunities for social involvement, thus maintaining 

their important roles and contributions to society. While there are known health-related benefits of volunteerism among older adults, a dearth of 

information exists on the perceived benefits of volunteerism among low-income and ethnic minority older adults.

Purpose: To understand the perceived psychosocial benefits of volunteering in the Senior Companion Program and to present findings of focus 

groups conducted with urban-dwelling, low-income older adult women volunteers.

Design and Methods: Inductive content analysis and the Dedoose qualitative data analysis software were used for analyzing data obtained from 59 

older adult women Senior Companions who participated in nine focus groups.

Results: Content analyses of the focus group transcripts identified four major themes: (1) Reducing social isolation; (2) Improving quality of life; (3) 

Finding purpose and meaning; and (4) Increasing understanding of aging. The majority of our participants (81%) were African American women, 

with a mean age of 70 years. Approximately 83.1% had completed high school and 62.7% lived below the poverty line.

Discussion and Implications: Findings provided data rich in descriptions of positive psychosocial outcomes, finding meaning and purpose, and a 

better understanding of aging in urban-dwelling, low-income older women volunteers. The findings also provide support for the need for policies 

and programs that promote civic engagement in this population.

X

Outcome

Nonexperimental: 

Single group - 

outcome (posttest) Y

ICF. (2018). Comparative Analysis and 

Case Studies of RSVP and SCP Grantees 

Implementing Evidence Based Programs 

Task 10 . Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. 

In 2017, CNCS engaged ICF to write case studies about five Senior Corps grantees (4 RSVP and 1 SCP) that received augmentation grant funding 

in 2016 to implement evidence-based programs (a set of activities and practices supported by a theory of change, tested through rigorous impact 

evaluation). The study looks at what motivated the projects, how they identified the EBP program, interaction with owners of EBPs, staffing, 

implementation with fidelity, how grantees use the funds, challenges, and whether they plan to continue after funding. 

X X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Case studies

N - 

Implementation 

only

ICF. (2018). Comparative Analysis and 

Case Studies of RSVP and SCP Grantees 

Implementing Evidence Based Programs 

Task 3 . Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. 

In 2017, CNCS engaged ICF to write case studies about RSVP grantees implementing signature programs. This study looks at five signature RSVP 

programs ( ...in the “signature” model, the sponsor directly administers the program where RSVP members serve. When a sponsor implements a 

signature program, it takes on responsibilities usually left to volunteer stations, such as training RSVP volunteers, recruiting beneficiaries, and 

maintaining space for the intervention...). The purpose was to help CNCS understand why sponsors develop these programs, how they are 

implemented, to what extent they partner with stations, how they perceive differences between these and other programs, how they perceive effects, 

and common characteristics. 

X

Implementation

Implementation: 

Case studies

N - 

Implementation 

only

Georges, A., Fung, W., Liang, J., Sum, 

C., & Gabbard, S. (2018). Longitudinal 

Study of Foster Grandparent and Senior 

Companion Programs: Service Delivery 

Implication and Health Benefits to the 

Volunteers. Report prepared for the 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. North Bethesda, MD: JBS 

International, Inc. 

CNCS conducted a longitudinal evaluation of two of the Senior Corps programs, Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and Senior Companion 

Program (SCP), to build the evidence base of these programs’ effectiveness. The evaluation was designed to assess how to strengthen and expand 

national service programs to support overall adult health and well-being. The study, launched in 2014, collected data from more than 1,200 first-time 

Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion volunteers on their social, demographic, and economic backgrounds; their interest in and motivation for 

volunteering; their experience with the program’s training and support; and health and well-being outcomes. The final report used data from three 

time points of data collection (baseline and two follow-ups) to achieve three objectives:

(1) Describe the demographic profile, knowledge of national service, and motivation for volunteering among first-time FGP and SCP volunteers. (2) 

Assess retention, satisfaction, and engagement with FGP and SCP. (3) Examine how participation in national service contributed to changes in selfrated health and well-being. First-time Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions were primarily female and racially and ethnically diverse; most 

were retired but remained active in the labor force. Volunteers were overall satisfied with their experience and reported they had flexibility to 

manage time. Volunteers' perceptions of their health improved among those that stayed, but those that left perceived a decrease in their health. 

X X

Impact

QED: Groups 

formed by 

matching - PSM, 

longitudinal

Y

Crittenden, J.A. (2019). Juggling 

Multiple Roles: An examination of role 

conflict and its relationship to older adult 

volunteer satisfaction and retention 

(PhD) . The University of Maine. 

Volunteering among older adults has been associated with numerous benefits for older adults and their communities. As the U.S. population 

continues to age, new and continued opportunities for engagement emerge not just within the formal volunteering arena but also within paid 

employment, caregiving, and informal volunteering. Grounded in role theory, this study examined the extent to which current volunteers experience 

role conflict and role enhancement between their volunteer role and other social roles that they occupy. Specifically, this study examined the 

following research questions: 1) Does role conflict predict satisfaction with, participation in, and/or intention to remain in the volunteer role? and 2) 

What are the compensatory strategies used by older adults to navigate role conflict and what benefits do older adults accrue in their volunteer roles 

that could effectively counterbalance role conflict? A mixed methods survey was distributed to 6,796 older adult Retired and Senior Volunteer 

Program (RSVP) volunteers nationally via mail and e-mail, with a total of 1,697 responding.

Results support both role strain and role enhancement perspectives. Role conflict, measured with a modified Work Family Conflict Scale (WAFCS), 

was found to be a predictor of volunteer satisfaction and associated with role load (# of roles held) and total role hours. While conflict was 

correlated with intent to remain in the volunteer role, it was not found to be a significant predictor of this outcome. Qualitative themes documented 

support for the benefits of volunteering both to volunteers personally as well as benefits that directly benefited paid employment, caregiving, and 

informal volunteer roles. Role-related benefits identified included new skills and knowledge, new networks/connections, new social role 

opportunities, and respite. Indirect personal benefits of volunteering included socialization, personal growth, new perspective/awareness, positive 

emotional benefits, and physical and cognitive health improvements. Sources of conflict noted by volunteers included health and time-related 

barriers to volunteering. Strategies for reducing role conflict included seeking similarities or differences across roles and time management 

strategies. Limitations of the study included a relative lack of variation in role conflict within the sample. Funding for this study was provided by the 

Corporation for National and Community Service.

X

Implementation

Implementation 

only

N - 

Implementation 

only
Year 

report 

written/

published

Report/Chapter 

Title 

Study Authors Link Abstract/Summary Pdf 

saved? 

Y/N

Notes: RSVP SCP FGP EC

1966 An evaluation of the 

Foster Grandparent 

Program

Greenleigh 

associates

This is the final report of the Evaluation of the Foster Grandparent Program 

based on a field survey conducted from April 1966 to October 31, 1966. The 

evaluation was conducted under contract with the Office of Economic 

Opportunity and in cooperation with the Administration on Aging of the 

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The evaluation showed 

that the Foster Grandparent Program has demonstrated great value and 

should be expanded on a large scale, but requires improvements in 

administration and operations. The program has a positive economic and 

human impact. Economically it has raised those older people who are 

foster grandparents to a level of income above the poverty line. It is almost 

impossible to reduce the real human impact of the Foster Grandparent 

Program to the written word. To see the program in operation, to observe 

the hunger of the deprived, handicapped and sick children for love, warmth 

and attention, to learn of the reborn feelings of usefulness on the part of 

the older people who had been cast aside by society-- these are the 

essential human aspects of the program. The evaluation included studies of 

ten of the twenty-two foster grandparent projects that were funded at the 

time the study was approved. The ten projects included 33 child-serving 

host agencies consisting of 10 general and special hospitals, 7 institutions 

for the retarded, 15 institutions or agencies for dependent or neglected 

children, and one specialized institution for emotionally disturbed children. 

The study included 478 older persons who were employed as fosterparents 

and had worked two months or more. In addition, it included 907 children 

who received fostergrandparent care for two weeks or more.

Y Becca received book through ILL and scanned X

1967 	

Evaluation of a 

foster-grandparent 

program findings of 

the fostergrandparent 

research project.

Saltz, R.

https://www.

worldcat.org/title/e

valuation-of-afoster-grandparentprogram-findings-ofthe-fostergrandparentresearchproject/oclc/23345

214 Unable to locate. Study conducted under U.S. Office of Economic Opportunit 

N There is a WorldCat reference for this, but we 

were unable to obtain copy of the report

X
1968 Foster-grandparents 

and institutionalized 

young children : two 

years of a fostergrandparent 

program

Saltz, R.

This report is based upon the findings of an intensive two-year research 

study, undertaken by the Merrill-Palmer Foster-Grandparent Research 

Project, of the operation and effects of one Foster-Grandparent Program 

(FGP; specifically-- the FGP administered by the Catholic Social Services 

Agency of Wayne County at the Sarah Fisher Home in Farmington, MI). By 

studying in depth the operation of this program, it was hoped that better 

understanding could be gained of the possible impact of such a program 

on: (1) the social, emotional and intellectual functioning of institutionalized 

infants and young children who receive FGP care; and (2) the emotional 

and physical well-being of the older people serving as the foster 

grandparents. Perhpas the most important finding is that the fostergrandparents have indeed proven able to fulfill the personalized quasifamily function for the infants and young children in their caree that was the 

most innovative feature of the Foster-Grandparent program. The emotional 

needs and potential satisfactions of the foster-grandparents as employees 

and those of the infants and young children in their care seem to be, in a 

very unique way, mutual and complementary. This mutuality of benefit was 

summed up quite simply by one of the foster-grandparents, after two years 

of employment at the Sarah Fisher Home, who said in reference to her 

foster-grandchild, "I love him and he loves me. We help each other."

Y Becca received book through ILL and scanned X

1968 Further Analysis of 

Data Gathered 1966-

1968 by MerrillPalmer Foster 

Grandparent 

Research Project

Merrill-Palmer 

Institute (Saltz, 

R.) (for ACTION)

Unable to locate

N Referenced in Freedman's book Primetime 

and also referenced in the 1968 Saltz report.

X

1968 Foster Grandparents 

in Child-care 

settings

Bernard Nash

Validates the concept that the helpers and those who are helped both gain f 

Y Not really an evaluation report X

1970 An evaluation of the 

effectiveness of a 

Foster Grandparent 

Project

Gray, Robert 

and Kasteler, 

Josephine M.

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of a project which 

employed elderly people to act as foster grandparents to mentally retarded 

children. In addition to the benefits accuring to the children from such 

individual care and training, the foster grandparents were found to have 

shown increments in life satisfaction and personal and social adjustment 

when compared with a similar group of elderly persons who were not 

employed on the project. This paper focuses on findings relating to the 

effects of the program on the elderly participants and supports the notion 

that meaningful, purposeful activity in addition to some financial 

remuneration are basic ingredients of good personal and social adjustment 

and increased life satisfaction in old age. 

Y X
1970 Foster 

grandparents: A 

unique contribution 

to the mentally 

retarded

Takacs, Kathleen 

Buresh

https://www.worldc

This thesis considers a Foster Granparent program in Wisconsin that serves 

institutionalized mentally retarded individuals at three facilities. Foster 

Granparents were asked to complete a six-page "Questionare on Self" 

concerning general health, personal and social characteristics; six months 

later, the questionnnaire was administered in shorter form, followed by 

interviews. Responses indicate that Wisconsin Foster Grandparents view 

participation in the program as having a positive impact on thier lives. For 

example, 35.9-41.3% felt their is better; nearly 80% rated themselves as 

"very satisfied" on "life satisfaction"; and 83.7-92.4% reported an increased 

"feeling of usefulness" following participation in the program. Foster 

Granparents (n=136) were also evaluated at three separate time periods by 

the program using the Cottage or Ward Personnel Evaluation form. Results 

showed that 77.2% of evaluators thought the Foster Grandparent had a 

favorable or very favorable influence on their assigned child.

Y Obtained through ILL X

1971 Aging Persons as 

Child-care Workers 

in a FosterGrandparent 

Program: 

Psychosocial effects 

and work 

performance

Saltz, R. https://journals.sag

epub.com/doi/abs/

10.2190/AG.2.4.i

This paper reports partial findings of a longitudinal study intended to 

evaluate the effectiveness of a foster-grandparent program. The project 

was part of the nationwide Foster-Grandparent program which employs 

indigent elders (minimum age: 60) in a variety of children's institutions. 

Workers are employed for twenty hours per week and receive the U.S. 

minimum hourly wage. Their services consist of providing personal 

attention and affection to infants and children who reside in institutions. 

The Foster Grandparent program has two major objectives. The first is to 

alleviate some of the financial and psychological problems which often face 

impoverished elderly persons by providing them with interesting, paid 

employment. The present paper is concerned with findings relevant to this 

first objective. The second goal of the program is to provide 

institutionalized young children with the kind of individualized care widely 

held to be crucial for normal early psychosocial develoment. Findings of the 

evaluation study as they relate to effects on the children have been 

reported elsewhere (Saltz, 1968; Saltz, 1970). Briefly it was found that the 

addition of foster-grandparent care to the institutional environment was 

associated with strikingly positive effects on the children's social and 

intellectual development.

Y Obtained through ILL X
1972 Cost Benefit Profile 

of the Foster 

Grandparents 

Program 

(alternatively: CostBenefit Study of the 

Foster Grandparent 

Program)

Booz Allen 

Administration 

Services (for 

ACTION)

No abstract. A cost-benefit study that found that FGP volunteers received 

substantial non-economic benefits. Of the nearly 900 individuals 

interviewed, most reported improvements in various life attributes (e.g94% improved feelings of usefulness to others, 95% improved life 

satisfaction, 92% happiness, 92% decreased financial worry, 88% lessened 

feelings of isolation). The study also found that the professional staff of the 

institutions felt that foster grandparents had impacts on the children 

themselves with 75% reporting improvements in children's sense of 

security, 60% improvements in children's general disposition, 53% 

communication skills and physical health. 

N I have no idea how we would go about finding 

this, but I'm including it since it is relevant... 

This was referenced in Rich's 1984 book "The 

Aging: A Guide to Public Policy" and I think I 

saw it in Primetime as well... but I can't locate 

any records of it

X

1973 Effects of Part-time 

"Mothering" on IQ 

and SQ of Young 

Institutionalized 

Children

Saltz, R. Studied the effects of institutionalization on the development of 81 

children aged 16 mo. to 6 yr. A foster-grandparent program (FGP) group 

received part-time "mothering" by elderly institutional aides for a period of 

up to more than 4 yr. A control group resided in a similar institution which 

did not provide supplementary "foster grandparent" care. Periodically 

during the 4-yr program, Ss were given a battery of tests (e.g., the Cattell 

Infant Intelligence Scale). There was a significant difference in IQ in favor of 

the FGP group. The FGP group made average progress over long periods of 

institutionalization in IQ-test scores and in the development of social 

competence, as measured by Vineland Social Maturity Scale. Draw-a-Man 

IQ scores were significantly lower than Stanford-Binet IQ scores for both 

experimental and control groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, 

all rights reserved)

Y X

1975 Senior Companion 

Program Study

Booz, Allen, & 

Hamilton Inc. 

(for ACTION)

Unable to locate N Referenced in Freedman's Primetime X

1976 Volunteers in 

Criminal Justice

ACTION Unable to locate N Referenced in Freedman's Primetime - not 

sure what program this is referring to

1976 RSVP project 

evaluation summary

ACTION (Smith, 

S, Garrison, 

W.L., Schwartz, 

C., Ferguson, B.)

https://www.worldcat.org/title/rsvp-project-evaluation-summary/oclc/3916

N Requested through ILL, but the library 

cancelled the request because no copies of 

the report were able to be located

X

1979 ?? Amherst H. 

Wilder 

Foundation (for 

ACTION)

Unable to locate. According to the CNCS RSVP history document this 

includes a “random survey” of 1288 senior citizens as comparison group, 44 

RSVP participants from same county. Descriptive of who RSVP vols. are. 

[DEEP]

N This is referenced in the RSVP evaluation 

history document we got from CNCS, but I 

have no idea how we could find it

X
1981 An evaluation of the 

senior companion 

programs in 

California : report of 

ARMAC 

Management 

Systems, Inc. to the 

California 

Department of 

Aging and the 

California State 

Legislature. 

ARMAC 

Management 

Systems

https://www.

worldcat.org/title/e

valuation-of-thesenior-companionprograms-incalifornia-report-ofarmac-managementsystems-inc-to-thecaliforniadepartment-ofaging-and-thecalifornia-statelegislature/oclc/586

63463

Unable to locate

N Could potentially be retrieved through ILL 

since it's on WorldCat, but it is only available 

in print (listed on the Hathi digital trust 

catalog) and it's specific to California

X

1981 Impact of a 

Volunteer Service 

Role Upon Aged 

People

Kornblum, S.F.

https://www.

worldcat.org/title/i

mpact-of-avolunteer-servicerole-upon-agedpeople/oclc/109542

92&referer=brief_re

sults

The impact of new role, a volunteer service role, upon the health, morale, 

social participation, level of activity, and self-perception of aged 

participants in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) was examined. 

Data were obtained from 198 aged people who responded to the search for 

RSVP volunteers. They were interviewed twice using a structured interview 

schedule, at the time they first indicated an interest in serving as RSVP 

volunteers, and again six months later. The 198 aged people were divided 

into three groups, for purposes of comparison, consisting of an 

experimental group of program participants, a comparison group of nonparticipants, and a "dropout" group consisting of participants who resigned 

before completing six months of volunteer work. Participation in a 

volunteer role had no clear measurable impact upon participants except for 

a significant improvement in self-perception and three of the seven 

indicators of self-assessed health...

Y Retrieved through ILL X
1982 Evaluating the 

Observable Effects 

of Foster 

Grandparents on 

Hospitalized 

Children

Ziegler, S., & 

King, J.

Because Foster Grandparent Programs have been widely implemented in 

acute care settings but not systematically evaluated, a study was done of 

the effects that the visiting of parent surrogates had on young children in 

acute care settings. Three groups of children in such settings were 

compared: those with foster grandparents, those without visitors, and 

those visited by their parents. Intergroup differences in the children's 

hospital behavior reached statistical significance in respect to only one of 

five behavioral domains investigated. The results of the foster grandparent 

intervention were found to be relatively weak compared with the results 

reported in earlier studies. However, it was believed that the discrepancy 

could be accounted for by the presence or absence of the visitor at the time 

of observation of the child's behavior. Implications drawn from the study 

were that greater benefits might be derived from the Foster Grandparent 

Program at little additional cost if the foster grandparent began visiting 

immediately upon the child's admission to the hospital, if this visiting 

extended beyond the current standard 2-hour period, and if the visitor was 

present at all traumatic medical procedures.

Y Retrieved through ILL X

1983 National 

Intergenerational 

Research and 

Dissemination 

Project: Final Report 

on Opportunities for 

Older Workers in 

the Children's 

Preschool Network

Trammel-Seck, 

Essie

https://www.

worldcat.org/title/n

ationalintergenerationalresearch-anddisseminationproject-final-reporton-opportunitiesfor-older-workersin-the-childrenspreschoolnetwork/oclc/1081

1986

 The purpose of this Project was to collect and disseminate information on 

the utilization of older persons in the children's preschool network 

nationwide. To achieve this purpose, a series of case studies on a national 

sample of ten preschool education/development programs (including three 

Foster Grandparent Program sites and four RSVP sites) was conducted to 

determine how seniors were utilized in the programs, the advantages and 

disadvantages of the collaborative effort, and the reasons for success or 

failure of the intergenerational programs. Survey data was collected from 

359 persons attending the National Head Conference network on the nature 

and extent of intergenerational programming so that we could judge whether 

the findings of the case studies were representative of other Head Start 

programs which provide opportunities for older persons. Data reveal that 

intergenerational Head Start programs have been in exisitence for some time 

and are distributed all over the United States. The overwhelming mahority of 

staff, senior program personnel, and other experts were "very satisfied" with 

their experience with older olders. Seniors interviewed in the preschool 

settings were "very satisfied" with their present position.

Y Retrieved through ILL X
1984 Life Satisfaction of 

Subpopulations of 

Elderly: The 

Comparative Effects 

of Volunteerism, 

Employment, and 

Meal Site 

Participation

Fengler, A.P. Although research generally indicates a positive relationship between 

activity and well-being, the strength of the relationship depends upon the 

presence or absence of personal and social resources such as health, 

solvency, residence, and surviving spouse as well as the nature of the 

activity itself. When such resources diminish, remaining activities take on 

added significance for maintaining morale. The present study investigates 

the relationship between elders who are volunteers, employed, or 

participating in meal site programs, and life satisfaction. The responses of 

1400 systematically selected elders to a needs assessment survey in a fourcounty area in northwestern New England suggest that those individuals 

experiencing the greatest number of resource deficits, such as living alone, 

residing in a city, and being in poor health, benefitted the most from 

participating in these formal activities. An unanticipated finding was that 

the strongest and most consistent predictor of life satisfaction for 

disadvantaged elders was participation as a volunteer for the Retired Senior 

Volunteer program.

Y X

1984 Impact evaluation of 

the foster 

grandparent 

program on the 

foster grandparents: 

Final report

Litigation 

support services 

(published by 

ACTION)

https://www.world

cat.org/title/impactevaluation-of-thefoster-grandparentprogram-on-thefostergrandparents/oclc/

66783140

A three-year impact evaluation of the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), 

conducted through ACTION resources in 1984, compared FGP volunteers 

with potential volunteers (i.e.- those on a waiting list to participate in the 

program). A stratified random sample of 14 FGP projects was selected from 

over 200 projects nationwide. Respondents were interviewed at three 

phases of the study in 1980 (N=370), 1981 (N=341), and 1983 (N=351), 

using the Older American Resources and Services/Multi-dimensional 

Functional Assessment (OARS) questionnaire. The study found that FGP has 

beneficial effects on the social, mental, physical, and economic functioning 

of participants. Specifically, participation was associated with better overall 

functioning, improvements in mental health and social resources over time, 

and lessened the decline in the level of physical health over time.

Y Retrieved through ILL X
1984 The Green County 

RSVP: A case study

Arella, L.R. This paper is a case study and evaluation report of the Retired Senior 

Volunteer Project (RSVP) of Greene County in upstate New York. At this 

site, three staff administrators coordinate the services of 120-130 retired 

citizens. The research addressed three general questions: (1) Does RSVP 

attract a type of volunteer who is not likely to benefit from volunteer 

service with other organizations? (2) How important is funding for the 

services provided by RSVP? (3) What do RSVP volunteers get from their 

membership and what would make their volunteer activities more 

satisfying? Questionnaire responses were solicited from active members, 

inactive members, and seniors who had had never been RSVP members. 

The study concluded that volunteerism remains a key opportunity for the 

aging to feel connected to the larger social structure, but cannot fulfill this 

possibility without a deliberate commitment to addressing the existing 

problems faced by the volunteers, aging or otherwise, in relation to the 

larger socio-economic system. 

Y Retrieved through ILL X

1984 The Effect of Foster 

Grandparents on 

Juvenile Offenders 

in Georgia Youth 

Development 

Centers

ACTION This report examines the effects of Foster Grandparents at Georgia Youth 

Development Centers (YDC) on the juvenile offenders with whom they 

worked. It studies the youths' self-esteem, their attitudes toward 

themselves, their institutions, and the Foster Grandparents; and the 

attitudes of staff regarding the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP). 

Information was collected between August 1982 and December 1983 from 

106 youth at three YDCs (62 with Foster Grandparents and 44 without 

Foster Grandparents), 9 YDC staff, and 17 Foster Grandparents. Pre-test 

and post-test interview results of youth with a Foster Grandparent 

(experimental group) were compared to the interview results of youth 

without a Foster Grandparent (control group). The youth outcome 

measures used in this study were a shortened version of the Coopersmith 

self-esteem scale and the self-anchoring scale measuring attitudes toward 

the YDC and him or herself. The study found that the Foster Grandparents 

positively affected the youths 'attitudes toward themselves and the YDC 

and to a lesser degree their self-esteem. The youth with a Foster 

Grandparent generally had higher post- test scores (after accounting for pretest differences) on the outcome measures than those without a Foster 

Grandparent. Youth with a Foster Grandparent rated themselves 6% higher 

on the 10 point "self-anchoring scale" than youth without a Foster 

Grandparent, a statistically significant difference (mean scores of 8.8 

compared to 8.2.)

Y Retrieved through ILL X

1984 Descriptive 

Evaluation of RSVP 

and FGP Volunteers 

Working with Head 

Start: Final Report

ACTION N Referenced in the citations for Freedman's 

book "Prime Time"

X X
1984 Senior Companions: 

An unrecognized 

resource for long 

term care.

Brummel, S.W. The article provides background on the Senior Companion program – the 

rationale behind seeing older adults as an untapped resource - and makes 

the argument that seniors can be a link between the professional care 

industry and the frail elderly, allowing the elderly to remain in their homes 

longer. The article describes the Elvirita Lewis Foundation’s Senior 

Companion program in Soquel, California, including how Companions are 

trained and the case management approach used. Using “informal records” 

(Companions’ notes), the article quotes Senior Companions about the ways 

they work with clients and how the clients benefit. 

Y Retrieved through ILL X

1985 National Retired 

Senior Volunteer 

Program Participant 

Impact Evaluation: 

Final report

Booz, Allen, & 

Hamilton Inc.

https://eric.ed.gov/

?id=ED265388

A study examined the long-term effects of participation in the Retired 

Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) on participants from 20 RSVP projects 

nationwide. Three rounds of interviews were conducted. In Round 1, 750 

volunteers were interviewed: 595 veteran volunteers and 155 new 

volunteers. In Round 2, 792 volunteers were intereviewed: 175 new 

volunteers and 617 volunteers from the earlier round. In Round 3, 677 

volunteers were reinterviewed. Data from these interviews were then 

compared to data collected from the General Accounting Office's 

longitudinal study entitled "The Well-Being of Older People in Cleveland, 

Ohio." The RSVP was found to appeal to a broad spectrum of the American 

public. Compared with the Cleveland cohort, RSVP attracts a healthier 

group of senior citizens, and continued involvement in RSVP is associated 

with improved or stable levels of functioning. Continued program 

participation is associated with participants' enhanced sense of well-being 

and outlook on life and may stave off the effects of aging. RSVP volunteers 

also provide meaningful services and contribute indirectly to the national 

work force. Program effectiveness may be increased by lowering first-year 

attrition rates. (Appendixes to this report include a glossary, a detailed 

description of the study design and methodology, sample attrition data, 

panel composition data tabulations, information on the reliability and 

validity of the study scales, levels-of-functioning data tabulations, and 

psychological/sociological scale results.) (MN)

https://www.worldcat.org/title/national-retired-senior-volunteer-programparticipant-impact-evaluation-finalreport/oclc/966972779&referer=brief_results

Y Retrieved through ILL X
1985 National Retired 

Senior Volunteer 

Program Participant 

Impact Evaluation: 

Round Two Report

Booz, Allen, & 

Hamilton Inc. 

(for ACTION)

The purpose of the National RSVP Participant Impact Evaluation is to 

provide the first assessment of the longitudinal effects of program 

participation on the physical health, social resources, mental outlook and 

economic resources of the individual volunteers in RSVP. There are two key 

research questions: Who are RSVP volunteers and how do they compare 

with the general population of older Americans? In what functional areas, if 

any, are the impacts of RSVP participation registered, and what is the 

nature of these impacts?

This report presents findings at the end of the second round of data 

collection, prior to the third and final round of this longitudinal assessment. 

Project sites were randomly selected. The report focuses on preliminary 

assessments of program impact on the functional status of new volunteers, 

continuing volunteers with different lengths of service, and program 

dropouts between Rounds 1 and 2; data were collected between 1982-

1984. In addition to comparisons among the RSVP samples, the study plan 

calls for demographic comparisons to be made among RSVP volunteers, the 

general U.S. population 60 years of age or older and the GAO sample drawn 

from the general elderly population in Cleveland. 

The Round 2 results point to dramatic differences in functional and 

psychological status between volunteers who continue to remain active in 

RSVP compared to those who become inactive. Continued program 

involvement becomes an important factor in predicting functional status 

for more experienced volunteers, where continued RSVP activity is 

associated with better physical health, mental outlook and overall 

functioning, but does little to explain the functioning levels of less 

experienced volunteers. 

Y This is the interim version of the report above. X

1985 Senior Companion 

Program impact 

evaluation: Final 

report

SRA 

Technologies 

(for ACTION)

In 1979, ACTI0N initiated a Five-Year evaluation of the SCP. This evaluation 

is based on data collected through interviews with four types of 

respondents: (1) active Senior Companions, (2) persons on the Waiting list 

to become Senior Companions, (3) clients currently receiving the services of 

a Senior Companion, and (4) persons on the Waiting list to be come clients. 

Three rounds of data collection were conducted at Senior Companion 

projects located in six sites. SC volunteers showed improvements in 

economic circumstances and mental health functioning and were more 

able to adjust to health limitations than those on the waiting list. 

Furthermore, clients who received SCP services had more stable social 

resources, increased adjustment to health limitations, and slower increases 

in areas of serious impairment than those on the waiting list. 

Y X
1987 An evaluation of the 

state funded senior 

companion program 

in response to 

section 2, chapter 

1458, Statutes of 

1982 (Mello, SB 

1324) : report to the 

California 

Legislature / State of 

California, Health 

and Welfare 

Agency, California 

Department of 

Aging

California 

Department of 

Aging

https://www.

worldcat.org/title/e

valuation-of-thestate-funded-seniorcompanionprogram-inresponse-to-section2-chapter-1458-

statutes-of-1982-

mello-sb-1324-

report-to-thecalifornialegislature/oclc/180

06104 Unable to locate

N Could probably be retrieved through ILL but is 

only available in print and is an evaluation in 

CA only

X

1988 Senior Companion 

Program: 

Homebound Elderly 

Demonstration 

Projects

Research 

Triangle 

Institute (for 

ACTION)

Unable to locate N Requested through RTI, but no reply X

1988 An Evaluation of 

Family Caregiver 

Services: Final 

report

Sociometrics, 

Inc. (for ACTION)

Unable to locate N Cited in Freedman 1994 article and also in 

1992 Lee and Gray article

1988 Friendly Visiting as a 

Means of Informing 

Homebound Senior 

Citizens of HealthRelated Community 

Services

Keller, K.L., 

Flattend, E.K., & 

Wilhite, B.C.

Health-related community services designed for the senior population 

include delivered and congregate meals, visiting health-aides and nurses, 

adult day care and telephone and postal checks. Friendly visiting programs 

may prove helpful in informing homebound senior citizens of these healthrelated community services. The purpose of this study was to investigate 

the effectiveness of friendly visiting as a means of informing homebound 

senior citizens of health-related community services.

Visited homebound seniors were contrasted with homebound controls. 

Visiting occurred in two forms. One group received visitors from an ongoing 

friendly visiting program (VISITING AS IS) in their community and a second 

group received visitors who were specifically trained to convey community 

referral information (REACH). A control group received no visiting of any 

kind. All three groups were administered pre- and post-interviews asking 

their knowledge of eight community services. At the end of the twelve 

week program, the post-interview means of the two homebound visited 

groups did differ significantly from the mean of the unvisited controls when 

contrasts were made using pre-interview scores as the covariate, F(2,78) = 

8.19 (p<.05). The homebound senior citizens visited by the REACH visitors 

increased their knowledge of services significantly more than the 

homebound seniors contacted by VISITING AS IS visitors F(1,53) = 7.20 

(p<.01). While the simple act of being visited did lead to increased 

knowledge at the .05 level, trained visitors were able to convey such 

information to a greater degree (p<.01). Awareness of community services 

can be effectively transmitted by friendly visitors and improved when a 

program is implemented to train the visitors to meet this goal.

Y X
1989 Research Evaluation 

of a Foster 

Grandparent 

Program

Saltz, R. https://psycnet.apa

.org/record/1989-

40923-001

This paper describes the results of a longitudinal research paper evaluating 

the effect of a Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) on the personal 

development of its participants. It focuses on the hypotheses, methodology 

and outcome of a series of studies conducted at the Detroit Foster 

Grandparent Program, particularly as they relate to effects on the older 

participants. Study participants included 37 foster grandparents (aged 

60–75 yrs) and 22 controls. Assessment measures included an interview 

schedule, a standard IQ test, observations, health, attendance, longevity 

records, and supervisor ratings. Markedly positive effects on lifesatisfaction and adjustment were found for the participants after 1 and 2 

yrs of participation in the program and again after 7 yrs.

Y Obtained through ILL X

1990 Volunteers as Care 

Givers: ACTION's 

National Long-term 

Care Demonstration 

Research Project - 

Volume III Final 

Impact Evaluation 

Report

ACTION Office of 

Policy and 

Planning: 

Evaluation 

Division

This report is the third and final of three reports on ACTION's National LongTerm Care Demonstration Research Project. The aim of this project was to 

determine the effects of using older volunteers as service providers for 

elderly persons needing long-term care. This volume, the Final Impact 

Evaluation Report, presents final evaluation data comparing the effect on 

volunteers and clients before and after participation in the project (relative 

to comparison groups of volunteers and clients). The demonstration project 

had a significiant positive impact for the volunteers in terms of economic 

resources, but there is no conclusive evidence of an impact in the areas of 

social resources, mental health, or physical health. The project also had a 

significant positive impact for the clients in terms of social resources. There 

were no measurable effects in terms of economic resources or physical 

health, and the effect of the program could not be definitively determined 

in terms of mental health or activities of daily living.

Y No abstract available. X

1990 Foster Grandparents 

Providing Care for 

New Populations of 

High-Risk Children: 

A Research Study

Sherwin, 

Henrietta and 

Whang, Judith

Unable to locate N Cited in Freedman's 1994 article, Primetime, 

and Civi Service book by Perry and Thomson. 

Published by the NYC Department for the 

Aging

X

1991 Fostering 

preschoolers' 

prosocial behaviors 

toward the elderly: 

The effect of an 

intergenerational 

program

DellmanJenkins, M., 

Lambert, D., & 

Fruit, D.

Unable to locate. The findings of this study provide valuable information to 

gerontology professionals interested in fostering caring connections 

between the young and the old. Contact with elderly in a variety of roles 

and settings as well as exposure to media presenting nonstereotypic 

information about older adults and the aging process were found to 

enhance young children's prosocial behaviors toward the elderly. Pretest 

and posttest analyses indicated that 3- and 4-year-olds who participated in 

a nine-month intergenerational program were more willing to share, help, 

and cooperate with elderly persons than those without the experience.

N Unable to locate X
1991 The Foster 

Grandparent 

Program: An 

analysis of changing 

trends

Cook, A.F. The Foster Grandparent Program was a federal initiative, established in 

1965. Intended as a response to the poverty and isolation prevalent among 

the elderly, the program enrolled low income senior citizens and provided 

an hourly tax free stipend in exchange for the daily support they provided 

to targeted children. Throughout the years of program operation, there has 

been no systematic study of the entry level characteristics of newly 

enrolled Foster Grandparents. This would seem to be important 

information because the age, health and education status of the enrolled 

individuals could have some bearing on the selection of appropriate child 

directed activities. This paper will examine some of the entry level 

characteristics of newly enrolled Foster Grandparents and discuss the 

relevance of those trends to specific program management issues. A ten 

year span of time will provide the basis for the study. Results suggest that 

from 1980-1990 the corp of newly enrolled volunteers has become older, 

more handicapped and increasingly feminized.

Y Unpublished dissertation, University of 

Montana; may also have been published by 

Missoula, MT: Missoula Aging Services-- 

includes a nice historical overview of the 

program and shifts in the program 

demographics from 1980, 1984, 1988, and 

1990

X

1991 The effects of 

intervention on 

psychobiological 

decline in aging 

(Final report of 

Program Project 

#PO1AG03975, 

National Institute of 

Aging)

Tobis, J.S., 

Crinella, F.M., 

Ashurst, J.T., 

Rook, K.S., 

Sandman, C.A., 

Wilson, A.F., 

Mosko, S.S., 

Swanson, J.M., 

and Reisch, S.

Unable to locate. According to Fischer and Schaffer's book on Older 

Volunteers: "A carefully designed longitudinal study of Foster Grandparent 

program volunteers compared with contol groups found no correlation 

between between better health and volunteer activity." 

N This is a final report for a 3.2 million National 

Institute of Aging grant so I have no idea 

where/if we can find this but have a look and 

let me know what you find!

I have searched the NIA's publications site for 

this and been unable to locate it. I've emailed 

the NIA to request a copy

X

1991 Senior Companion 

Program 

Alzheimer's 

Association In-home 

Respite Care 

Demonstration

The Alzheimer's 

Association 

Patient and 

Family Services 

(and ACTION)

The purpose of this report is to summarize a demonstration project 

conducted by the Alzheimer's Association and the Senior Companion 

Program (SCP). This demonstration project, funded by two grants from 

ACTION to the national Alzheimer's Association, was to determine the 

feasibility and benefits of the public/private partnership between 

Alzheimer Association Chapters and SCPs in the delivery of in-home respite 

care to clients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and their families. This report 

shows that Alzheimer care needs were dramatic, service delivery to 

Alzheimer clients in need of companion services was complex and 

multifaceted, and services provided by Senior Companion/Alzheimer 

Volunteers (SC/AV) were dependable and appreciated by families. The 

evaluation included family surveys (for those receiving respite services), 

SCP volunteer surveys, and surveys of SCP administrators/directors. 

Y No abstract included, drafted one X
1992 Respite service to 

family caregivers by 

the senior 

companion 

program: an urbanrural comparison.

Lee CF. Gray LC. The Senior Companion Program (SCP), a federally sponsored program, aims 

to enlist older volunteers to provide in-home services to the homebound 

elderly. A survey of 48 sample SCP projects providing family caregiver 

services reveals a distinctly different trajectory of urban and rural project 

development. In both environments, the longer a project has been in 

existence, the greater the number of volunteers in service. However, the 

number of clients served increases for urban projects, but not for rural 

projects. Relatedly, the unmet need for family caregiver services, the 

number of referrals unserved by the project, is considerably greater in rural 

areas. These results suggest that because of factors unique to rural areas, 

the expansion of clientele may be more restricted in rural settings 

compared to that in urban settings, thereby implying that rural-urban 

differences should be reflected in project planning and implementation.

Y X

1992 Retired Senior 

Volunteer Program 

activities in alcohol 

and drug abuse 

prevention and 

education

Research 

Triangle 

Institute [RTI] 

(for ACTION)

This report describes the contribution that RSVP Volunteers are making to 

reduce alcohol and drug abuse and the steps for starting up and managing 

a successful alcohol or drug abuse activity for RSVP Volunteers. The study 

used mail and telephone surveys to collect data on activities in RSVP 

Projects and Volunteer Stations. Researchers then chose three sites and 

activities for more intensive on-site data collection: (1) Bellingham, 

Washington, a school-based activity targeted on at-risk youth; (2) Bucks 

County, Pennsylvania, a prevention of prescription drug misuse by older 

adults; and (3) Elkhart, Indiana, use of Volunteers in probation services. The 

report concludes that RSVP Project Directors who are successful in other 

areas of programming already possess the tools for success in alcohol and 

drug abuse programming.

Y X

1993 Creating more 

dynamic senior 

companion 

programs.

Bruce, Julliet Unable to locate. Looks at the Senior Companions Program, which is based 

on the concept of using the well elderly to help the frail elderly in homebased services. Funding of the program; The program in rural areas; 

Number of persons being served by the program in 1993; The program's 

partnership with the Visiting Nurses Association of America (VNAA); Project 

involving the Alzheimer's Association; More. INSET: A partnership model..

N Not an evaluation; no full-text found X
1993 1992-1993 Foster 

Grandparent 

Program Evaluation: 

Final report on 

research findings

Development 

Associates 

(submitted to 

ACTION)

The primary data were collected from a survey of all Project Directors, a 

sample of Advisory Council members, and a sample of station staff: 

Institutional representatives, station supervisors, and volunteers. Visits to 

ten sites provided additional data and data from the FY1992 annual ACTION 

survey, Project Profile and Volunteer Activity, as well as data from the US 

Census Bureau were also used. The program results in increases in quality 

of life for all concerned: the children receive better quality service and 

experience improvements in self esteem and self confidence while the 

Volunteers feel more usedul, and better physically as well as enjoying the 

children, making new friends, having a new purpose in life, and 

appreciating the increased income.

Y X

1993 EVALUATION OF 

THE SCP/AoA JOINT 

INITIATIVE FOR 

THE VULNERABLE 

ELDERLY PROGRAM

SECOND YEAR 

EVALUATION 

RESULTS

RTI In 1990, ACTION and the Administration on Aging (AoA) began the Joint 

Initiative for the Vulnerable Elderly. This program provides support to 

eleven states to provide expanded services for frail elderly in the 

community, with an emphasis on those aged 80 and older. The objectives 

of this three-year evaluation are to describe the program implementation, 

assess the ability of the grantees and sponsors to develop non-Federal 

support to continue the Joint Initiative services at the end of the three-year 

funding period, examine program outcomes and impacts, identify 

successful models for replication, and recommend changes to increase the 

impact and efficiency of the program. The evaluation uses a combination of 

telephone interviews, site visits, and analyses of data on Senior 

Companions and clients. ACTION receives a report on the evaluation 

findings each year. The second year evaluation focused on four aspects of 

the Joint Initiative: activities and services, management, development of 

non-Federal support, and alternative approaches to services and support. 

The findings, conclusions and recommendations are organized under these 

four areas.

Y Might be superceded by subsequent report... X
1994 Seniors in National 

and Community 

Service: A Report 

Prepared for the 

Commonwealth 

Fund's Americans 

over 55 at Work 

Program.

Freedman, Mark https://files.eric.ed.

gov/fulltext/ED3731

78.pdf

National service offers an appealing vehicle for engaging senior citizens to 

respond to unmet needs in education, health care, public safety, the 

environment, and other essential areas. Involving seniors in national 

service will help alleviate the country's pressing domestic problems, 

enhancing participants' personal development, and bolstering the nation's 

flagging sense ofcommunity. A partial system of national service for seniors 

that began during the Kennedy administration demonstrated that seniors 

can provide essential community service, benefit through serving, and play 

an important role in service. Programs such as the Foster Grandparent 

Program and Senior Companions Program have also made it clear that 

senior service is not cheap and that obstacles and questions regarding key 

issues related to senior service persist. Despite the strides that have been 

made during the past 30 years regarding involving seniors in national and 

community service, the gap between promise and practice remains 

substantial. Achieving a vision of senior service that is substantially, but not 

exclusively, intergenerational requires action on the following fronts: 

strengthen the three programs currently providing the vast majority of 

senior service opportunities, embark on a period of innovation and 

experimentation, and build infrastructure at the national and local levels.

Y Provides a nice history of the SeniorCorps 

program and also the demographic 

characteristics of volunteers in 1994 (25 years 

ago!). Not technically an evaluation.

X X X

1994 Evaluation of the 

SCP/AoA Joint 

Initiative for the 

Vulnerable Elderly 

Program

RTI - Griffith, 

J.D., Powers, 

L.L., Rist, L.M., 

Matheson, J.L.

In 1990, ACTION and the Administration on Aging (AoA) began the Joint 

Initiative for the Vulnerable Elderly. This program provides support to 

eleven states to provide expanded services for frail elderly in the 

community, with an emphasis on those aged 80 and older. The objectives 

of this three-year evaluation are to describe the program implementation, 

assess the ability of the grantees and sponsors to develop non-Federal 

support to continue the Joint Initiative services at the end of the three-year 

funding period, examine program outcomes and impacts, identify 

successful models for replication, and recommend changes to increase the 

impact and efficiency of the program. The evaluation uses a combination of 

telephone interviews, site visits, and analyses of data on Senior 

Companions and clients. The final evaluation focused on four aspects of 

the Joint Initiative: Joint Initiative projects and activities, partnerships with 

other agencies, development of non-Federal support, and alternative 

approaches to services and support. The findings, conclusions and 

recommendations are organized under these four areas. Volunteer station 

supervisors and companions reported positive impacts of SCP on clients 

(e.g.- help with household activities and psychological benefits) and 

companions (stipends, physical examinations, in-service training and 

enhanced purpose and self-esteem).

Y I think this is the final version of the report 

above

X
1994 The VNA (visiting 

nurse association) 

and SCP (senior 

companion 

program) program: 

a natural 

partnership.

Levin R. Briggs L. 

Carrocio J. 

Hamilton P.

Unable to locate. Senior companions can be the eyes and ears of a visiting 

nurse association, with companions turning into friends and offering the 

nurturing and emotional support that VNAs may not have time to provide 

with the ever-increasing demand for home care.

N Have not been able to find full-time access; 

I'm also not sure this is an evaluation. There's 

another report below from 1996 that might 

supercede this.

X

1994 The Senior 

Companion Program 

and Visiting Nurse 

Associations of 

American Public 

Private Partnership 

Program: An 

Evaluation Report

Wilson, Laura 

(University of 

Maryland, 

Center on Aging)

Unable to locate. N Referenced in Freedman's Primetime. May be 

the same as the article on the prior line but 

the author is different.

X

1994 An evaluation report 

on the Foster 

Grandparent 

Program

Corporation for 

National and 

Community 

Service ACTION - 

Office of Policy 

Research and 

Evaluation

A comprehensive review of the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) was 

undertaken in order to determine its effectiveness, compliance with 

legislation, and the adequacy of oversight by the sponsoring organization. 

The evaluation is based on more than 40 research questions designed to 

describe program activities, determine degrees of community support, 

ascertain program impact, and assess factors pertinent to program 

effectiveness. Data was collected via mail and telephone surveys and 

through site visits. Primary data were collected from a survey of the 

principal components of each FGP project: all Project Directors, and a 

sample of the Advisory Council members, Institutional Representatives, 

Station Supervisors, and Volunteers. Separate survey questionnaires were 

designed for members of each group. The following conclusions were 

made: (1) the Foster Grandparent Program is meeting its intended 

purposes; (2) Foster Grandparent Volunteers are primarily female from 

diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds; (3) FGP projects have varying 

characteristics with most operating in public and private schools, serving 

children between three and eleven years old; and (4) training and technical 

assistance to the FGP need to be strengthened. Seventeen tables present 

data.

Y X

1995 RSVP: A catalyst for 

intergenerational 

partnerships

Roberts, Angela 

(Generations 

United) Unable to locate. A report that describes how 13 RSVP projects developed in 

N Unable to locate. X

1996 A senior 

volunteer/home 

care agency national 

collaboration: 

assessment of the 

partnership.

Carrocio J. 

Wilson L. Pryor 

J. Marks LN. 

Nippes JK.

This research has focused on a partnership between a private sector home 

health care entity, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and 

the public sector Senior Companion Program (SCP) of the domestic 

volunteer agency now a part of the Corporation for National and 

Community Service. This research examined the partnerships between the 

two agencies in 18 local demonstration sites in order to assess how a home 

health agency worked. Specific areas reviewed were administration of the 

partnership, communication patterns between the agencies, areas of 

conflict, the future of the liaison, and how effectively volunteer 

performance matched original expectations.

Y Retrieved through ILL (4/25) X
1997 (1997) Retired and 

Senior Volunteer 

Program, Summary 

Evaluation Report.

Westat: William 

Strang

Adrienne von 

Glatz 

Simeon 

Stolzberg

This summary report highlights findings of a study of RSVP conducted in 

late 1995 and early 1996. The study had three objectives. CNS is required 

to evaluate all its programs regularly. This report highlights findings of a 

study of RSVP conducted in late 1995 and early 1996. The report (1) 

Collects descriptive information on current practices from RSVP projects, 

stations, and volunteers. (2) Assesses the satisfaction of RSVP program 

stakeholders, including project directors, station supervisors, and 

volunteers. (3) Assess the direct accomplishments of RSVP volunteers in 

their communities and at their stations. The primary source of data for the 

study was a nationally representative sample of 200 RSVP projects. The 

200 project directors were surveyed by mail, as was a nationally 

representative subsample of 637 volunteer station supervisors from the 

sampled projects. A further nationally representative subsample of 1,055 

RSVP volunteers from the sampled stations was surveyed by telephone.

Y X

1998 Effective practices 

of foster 

grandparents in 

Head Start Centers: 

Benefits for 

children, 

classrooms, and 

centers

Achatz, Mary. 

Westat (for 

CNCS)

https://babel.

hathitrust.org/cgi/p

t?id=pur1.3275406

8873169;view=1up;

seq=3

Describes results from an in-depth qualitative evaluation (from the 1999-

1997 school year) done to lay a foundation for future quantitative studies 

of FGP outcomes and impacts for children in Head Start. Six FGP projects 

were selected for their use of effective practices of productive roles for FGs. 

Results suggested that FGP volunteers support children's emotional wellbeing, self-esteem and self-efficacy, language development, cognitive 

development. Results also suggested that FGP volunteers contribute 

positively to the classroom and the center and the report identified 5 

effective practices of teachers and centers that contribute to the success of 

FGP volunteers.

Y No abstract included X

1998 Launching 

Experience Corps: 

Findings from a TwoYear Pilot Project 

Mobilizing Older 

Americans to Help 

Inner- City 

Elementary Schools

Civic Ventures 

(Freedman, 

Marc and Fried, 

L.)

This report describes the results of an 18-month pilot study of the 

Experience Corps program in 12 schools and 5 cities. The program is a 

collaboration of Public/Private Ventures (a non-profit), Johns Hopkins 

University (specifically the School of Medicine and the Center for the Social 

Organization of Schools) and the Corporation for National Serivce (CNS). All 

five local Experience Corps projects were run by the Foster Grandparent 

Program or RSVP in the participating cities, or by a collaboration between 

these projects. Funding for the Experience Corps pilot and accompanying 

research was provided by the Retirement Research Foundation, the 

Pinkerton foundation, and CNS. The evaluation included 30 site visits to 

four of the five projects ( which included interviews, focus groups, and 

observations) and a questionnaire that was admistered to volunteers at all 

five sites (assessing basic characteristics, attitudes, health, and functioning)

Y X X X
1999 Retired and Senior 

Volunteer Program 

Accomplishment 

Report

Aguirre 

International

The accomplishments described in this report were derived from the survey 

form entitled, “Meeting Community Needs: A Survey of the Retired and 

Senior Volunteer Program’s (RSVP) Activities, Inputs and 

Accomplishments.” First, a process was undertaken to identify the universe 

of volunteer stations belonging to all 752 projects. The goal of the sample 

was to randomly and efficiently select a portion of the population or 

universe under study in such a manner that the characteristics of the 

sample had a very high probability of accurately reflecting the 

characteristics of the population or universe. Utilizing a random sampling 

procedure with probabilities proportional to the volunteer station size, 

1,381 RSVP stations were selected for the study. 

Y No abstract included. X

1999 Senior Companion 

Program 

Accomplishment 

Report.

Aguirre 

International

This report presents the findings from the first survey on the 

accomplishments of the Senior Companion Program (SCP). This report 

summarizes the community service accomplishments from all Senior 

Companion Projects for the period between July 1, 1997, and June 30, 

1998. The information reported here was collected by Aguirre 

International on the Senior Companion Program accomplishment survey. 

The survey sample consisted of a random selection of 1,282 community 

organizations serving as volunteer stations and representing all 190 SCP 

projects. The accomplishments are grouped within four of the Corporation 

for National Service’s program emphasis areas: Health and Nutrition, 

Human Needs Services, Community and Economic Development, and Public 

Safety. The list, while both long and diverse, is not exhaustive, not every 

accomplishment has been captured. Nevertheless, the list summarizes the 

major accomplishments for the Senior Companion Program.

Y X

1999 Foster Grandparent 

Program 

Accomplishment 

Report.

Aguirre 

International

The accomplishments described in this report were derived from the survey 

form entitled, “Meeting Community Needs: A Survey of the Foster 

Grandparent Program’s (FGP) Activities, Inputs and Accomplishments.” 

First, a process was undertaken to identify the universe of stations 

belonging to all 306 projects. 7,851 community organizations serving as 

volunteer stations were identified. The goal of the sample was to 

randomly and efficiently select a portion of the population or universe 

under study in such a manner that the characteristics of the sample had a 

very high probability of accurately reflecting the characteristics of the 

population or universe. Utilizing a random sampling procedure with 

probabilities proportional to the number of volunteers serving at each 

station, 1,378 Foster Grandparent volunteer stations were selected for the 

study. 

Y X
2000 The Experience 

Corps for 

Independent Living 

Initiative: 

Volunteers for the 

New Century

Rabiner, D.J., 

and Helfer, C.R. 

(RTI)

The Corporation for National Service (the Corporation) has developed and 

funded a variety of volunteer service programs to help meet some of the 

nation's critical social needs. One of these needs is the increasing demand 

for home- and community-based care for frail older persons and their 

family members/caregivers. In 1998, the Corporation launched the 

Experience Corps for Independent Living (ECIL) initiative to test innovative 

ways to use the experience, time, and resources of older volunteers to 

expand the number of independent living services available to frail elders 

and their families/caregivers. Although this demonstration shares some 

similar features with other senior programs funded by the Corporation, it 

has several elements that make it appealing to a broader range of 

volunteers. This article provides a summary of the early experience of 

starting up and implementing this initiative. The core elements of the 

initiative and key evaluation components are presented. The characteristics 

of the volunteers and clients served, as well as the type of services 

performed, are reported across all projects. Summary comments and 

recommendations are provided.

Y This is an evaluation for a demonstration 

project on the Experience Corps independent 

living initiative. We decided to exclude all EC 

studies so this isn't in the annotated 

bibliography or systematic review.

X

2001 The Role and Value 

of Senior 

Companions in Their 

Communities.

RTI This report is the first product of the Senior Companion Program Quality of 

Care Evaluation. Research Triangle Institute (RTI) conducted a telephone 

survey of volunteer station supervisors between March-May 2000. The 

volunteer station survey was part of a larger evaluation effort to examine 

the impact of the Senior Companion Program on agencies, clients and 

families/caregivers served. The purpose of the volunteer station survey was 

to assess the extent to which the Senior Companion Program was valued by 

service providers, and examine how it affected the quality of services 

delivered to frail older adults in the community. In particular, this survey 

sought to determine what roles the Senior Companions played at the 

volunteer stations and whether they enabled their volunteer stations to 

expand the services provided to senior citizens.

Y No abstract included. May be superceded by 

the 2003 final report.

X
2002 Senior Corps 

Futures Study Final 

Report

Cynthia Thomas 

, Priyanthi Silva 

(Westat)

This study was conducted between July 2000 and July 2001, through 

literature reviews, through telephone interviews with national experts, 

program directors and state directors and through focus group discussions 

at three regional conferences of program. There was substantial agreement 

among those consulted on the major recommendations of the study 

including: (1) increase project budgets to hire more staff, pay for travel, (2) 

allow programs more flexibility in spending their grants, (3) raise the 

income guidelines for volunteer eligibility, (4) increase the stipends for 

volunteers, (5) reimburse volunteers for the expenses they incur, (6) allow 

volunteers more flexibility in time commitments, (6) create new working 

arrangements for volunteers, (7) eliminate age-biased terminology, (8) reemphasize traditional concerns for the welfare of volunteers, (9) design 

more in-depth training for volunteers, (10) encourage project directors to 

voice their opinions, (11) publicize the programs, nation-wide, (12) increase 

the pay of project directors.

Y No abstract included. Includes a nice overview 

of the history of each of the programs and a 

literature review on volunteering in older 

adults. Good background info! There is an 

abbreviated version of this published in a 

book chapter below.

X X X

2002 The National Study 

of Foster 

Grandparent 

Program Directors: 

Identifying Effective 

Practices, Project 

Barriers and Needs

McGowan, T.G. This study was commissioned by the National Association of Foster 

Grandparent Program Directors (NAFGPD) in order to "check the pulse" of 

project directors and provide insight regarding project barriers and needs. 

The study was designed as a triangulated research project consisting of (1) 

a self-administered, survey questionnaire that was mailed to FGP project 

directors nationwide, (2) a key informant discussion of survey findings with 

members of the NAFGPD Board of Directors, and (3) five focus group 

discussions with project directors selected from sub-groups formed on the 

basis of the survey and key informant discussion findings.

Y No abstract X

2003 Relationships 

between Altruistic 

Activity and Positive 

and Negative Affect 

among Low-Income 

Older Adult Service 

Providers

Dulin, P.L., & 

Hill, R.D.

Self-reported altruistic activity was examined as a predictor of positive and 

negative affective states among a sample of 115 low-income older adults 

who were actively providing services to others within a federally subsidized 

service delivery program (Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions). 

Results indicated that altruistic activity was predictive of positive, but not 

negative affect. It was found that altruistic activity was a significant 

predictor of positive affect after controlling for relevant demographic 

variables including social support and income. The theoretical and clinical 

implications of this research are discussed.

Y X X
2003 Fostering social ties 

through a volunteer 

role Implications for 

older-adults' 

psychological health

Rook, K.S., & 

Sorkin, D.H.

This study examined the effects on older adults’ psychological health of 

 participation in a volunteer role that afforded opportunities to form 

friendships with age peers and to express nurturance toward another 

person. Access to these important social provisions was expected, in turn, 

to contribute to greater self-esteem, less loneliness, and less depression. 

The study hypotheses were tested by comparing older adults who served as 

foster grandparents to a

developmentally disabled child (N = 52) with older adults in two 

comparison groups (Ns = 69, 59). Three assessments were conducted over 

a two-year period. The analyses revealed that the foster grandparents 

exhibited a significant

increase in the number of new ties formed, but participation in the Foster 

Grandparent Program was not associated with the expected gains in 

emotional health. Explanations for the limited findings and implications for 

future research are discussed.

Y X

2003 Final Report of 

Senior Companion 

Quality of Care 

Evaluation

RTI (prepared 

for CNCS)

This report is the final product of the Senior Companion Program Quality of 

Care Evaluation, prepared by RTI International for the Corporation for 

National and Community Service’s Office of Evaluation. The report presents 

the study’s findings about the role and value of senior companions at 

volunteer stations and in their communities. The report includes results 

from a survey of volunteer station supervisors (administered in 2000) 

designed to examine the role and value of the SCP. The report also includes 

quasi-experimental study (conducted at 3 time points from 1999-2002) 

with one treatment group and at least one comparison group for clients 

and family/caregiver. The client comparison groups included (a) those 

newly placed on the waiting list for Senior Companion Program services 

and (b) those newly receiving other volunteer station services (but not 

Senior Companion Program services) at a volunteer station. The family 

comparison group included family members/caregivers of those newly 

placed on the waiting list for Senior Companion Program services. Finally, 

the study also included results from a client survey comparing SCP clients to 

those on the waiting list and/or those receiving other agency services.

Y No abstract included. Y
2003 The Impact of the 

Senior Companion 

Program on Quality 

of Life Outcomes for 

Frail Older Adults 

and Their Families.

Rabiner, Donna 

J. Scheffler, 

Scott. Koetse, 

Elizabeth. 

Palermo, 

Jennifer. Ponzi, 

Elizabeth. Burt, 

Sandra. 

Hampton, 

Lynelle.

https://www.tandfo

nline.com/doi/abs/

10.1300/J027v22n0

4_01

The Senior Companion Quality of Care Evaluation assessed the impact of a 

federally funded senior volunteer program on quality of life outcomes for 

frail clients and their families. Telephone interviews were conducted with 

national samples of frail Senior Companion Program (SCP) clients, family 

members, and comparison group participants. Multivariate procedures 

were used to examine study outcomes. SCP clients benefited significantly 

from the program at 3 months, though fewer positive effects were reported 

at 9 months. SCP family members benefited only modestly from the 

program. The SCP has been considered a low-cost way of matching the 

needs of community-based frail older adults with the skills of senior 

volunteers. Now, it has been shown to have some favorable effects on 

client well-being. These findings may take on greater significance given the 

desire to expand the SCP through the USA Freedom Corps Initiative. 

[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] 

Y Located through KM database - This is the 

same study referenced in the report above 

but with findings pulled out for a 14-page 

peer-reviewed journal article instead of the 

500+ page internal report above

X

2003 DRAFT Senior Corps 

Faith-based 

Assessment: Final 

Report

ETR Associates In response to President George W. Bush's 2001 executive order 

acknowledging the value of faith-based organizations, the Corporation for 

National and Community Service launched an assessment of the extent and 

nature of volunteer activities at faith-based organizations serving as Senior 

Corps volunteer stations. The Senior Corps faith-based assessment had two 

components. The first component was a mailed self-administered 

assessment to gather data on the number and type of faith-based 

organizations collaborating with Senior Corps projects and the services that 

Senior Corps volunteers offer at those organizations. The second 

component of the assessment was a phone interview of a small sample of 

project Directors to gather information on the histories, challenges and 

benefits, and differences and similarities of working with faith-based 

organizations. The Senior Corps faith-based assessment documented that 

the majority of Senior Corps projects had longstanding agreements with 

faith-based organizations serving as volunteer stations. By and large, Senior 

Corps project Directors described few to no differences between working 

with faith-based organizations and non faith-based organizations and 

viewed such collaborations as beneficial in accomplishing project goals.

Y This is the draft X X X
2003 Profile of Senior 

Corps Faith-Based 

Partnerships

ETR Associates In response to President George W. Bush's 2001 executive order 

acknowledging the value of faith-based organizations, the Corporation for 

National and Community Service launched an assessment of the extent and 

nature of volunteer activities at faith-based organizations serving as Senior 

Corps volunteer stations. The Senior Corps faith-based assessment had two 

components. The first component was a mailed self-administered 

assessment to gather data on the number and type of faith-based 

organizations collaborating with Senior Corps projects and the services that 

Senior Corps volunteers offer at those organizations. The second 

component of the assessment was a phone interview of a small sample of 

project Directors to gather information on the histories, challenges and 

benefits, and differences and similarities of working with faith-based 

organizations. The Senior Corps faith-based assessment documented that 

the majority of Senior Corps projects had longstanding agreements with 

faith-based organizations serving as volunteer stations. By and large, Senior 

Corps project Directors described few to no differences between working 

with faith-based organizations and non faith-based organizations and 

viewed such collaborations as beneficial in accomplishing project goals.

Y X X X

2003 An overview and 

critique of the 

experience corps for 

independent living 

initiative.

Rabiner, D., 

Koetse, E., 

Nemo, B., & 

Helfer, CR. (RTI)

https://www.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu

bmed/12822694

This article presents findings of the evaluation of the Experience Corps for 

Independent Living (ECIL) initiative. The ECIL initiative was a two-year 

demonstration program designed to test innovative ways to use the 

experience, time, and resources of volunteers over 55 to expand 

significantly the size and scope of volunteer efforts on behalf of 

independent living services for frail older people and their caregivers in 

specific communities. Six demonstration projects were selected to 

participate in this initiative. The intensive volunteers, the critical 

component of the program, were more highly skilled than typical 

volunteers from existing senior volunteer programs. ECIL volunteers 

collaborated with agency partners to develop new programs, supervise 

direct service activities, and enhance the performance of the agencies 

being served. Although the projects addressed many of the goals of the 

initiative, they did not fully accomplish all of their objectives. The ECIL 

initiative was particularly successful in providing independent living 

services to frail elders and their families in the communities served. It was 

less successful in developing and maintaining the team and corps concept, 

in attracting and retaining the anticipated numbers of volunteers during the 

study period, and in becoming self-sufficient by the end of Year Three.

Y This is an evaluation of an EC demonstration 

project but it's not technically SCP so it's not 

included in the annotated bibliography or 

systematic review.

X
2004 Experience Corps in 

Urban Elementary 

Schools: A Survey of 

Principals

Turnbull, B.J., & 

Smith, D.L.

Principals, coping with the press of ever-rising academic expectations and 

constant administrative challenges, have no time for programs that do not 

serve their purposes. Experience Corps – which places teams of older adults 

as tutors and mentors in urban elementary schools – has won their 

allegiance and respect. A survey of principals in whose schools the program 

operated in 2002-2003 shows that:

• Principals believe it has contributed to their students’ academic 

performance.

• Principals cite the personal relationships between Experience Corps 

members and students, and

between members and teachers, as contributing to a positive school 

atmosphere.

• In comparison with other programs, principals cite not only Experience 

Corps’ advantage of

intergenerational benefits, but also the advantages of the reliability of 

members and the

coordination provided by the local office

Y X

2004 Short-Term Impact 

of Experience Corps 

Participation on 

Children and 

Schools: Results 

from a Pilot 

Randomized Trial

Rebok, G.W., 

Carlson, M.C., 

Glass, T.A., 

McGill, S., Hill, 

J., Wasik, B.A., 

Ialongo, N., 

Frick, K.D., Fried, 

L.P., & 

Rasmussen, 

M.D.

This article reports on the short-term impact of a school-based program 

using older adult volunteers and aimed at improved academic achievement 

and reduced disruptive classroom behavior in urban elementary school 

students. The Experience Corps® Baltimore (Maryland) program places a 

critical mass of older adult volunteers, serving 15 hours or more per week, 

in public schools to perform meaningful and important roles to improve the 

educational outcomes of children and the health and well-being of the 

volunteers. This article reports on the preliminary impact of the program on 

children in grades K–3. A total of 1,194 children in grades K–3 from six 

urban elementary schools participated in this pilot trial. At follow-up, third 

grade children whose schools were randomly selected for the program had 

significantly higher scores on a standardized reading test than children in 

the control schools, and there was a nonsignificant trend for improvement 

in alphabet recognition and vocabulary ability among kindergarten children 

in the program. Office referrals for classroom misbehavior decreased by 

about half in the Experience Corps schools, but remained the same in the 

control schools. Teachers had somewhat more favorable attitudes toward 

senior volunteers as a result of having older volunteers in the classroom, 

although the difference between the intervention and control schools was 

not statistically significant. In this pilot trial, the Experience Corps program 

led to selective improvements in student reading/academic achievement 

and classroom behavior while not burdening the school staff.

Y Experience Corps pilot study -- EC studies 

were not ultimately included in the annotated 

bibliography or systematic review since they 

are not technically SC

X
2005 Technical Report of 

the Foster 

Grandparent 

Mentoring Service 

Recipient Study

Westat (for 

CNCS)

For the current study described in this report, we collected data on outputs, 

immediate outcomes, and end outcomes of mentoring activities of the 

Foster Grandparent Program from a representative sample of the 

organizations or statistics in which the FGs serve. This report describes the 

findings from the Foster Grandparent Mentoring Service Recipient survey 

which used a stratified systematic sample of service statistions that 

included mentoring as a service category. The survey included questions on 

the activities performed by FGs and the impact they have on the children 

they served, the project director's ratings of the effectiveness of FGP 

volunteers in comparison with non-FGP volunteers, and overall ratings of 

the capabilities and reliability of FGs. FGP participants were listed as either 

more effective or as effective as other volunteers and a majority of stations 

said that young and elementary school children showed a fair amount or a 

lot of improvement in their academic performance after working with a 

volunteer.

Y No abstract X

2005 DRAFT: Public 

Report on the 

Results of the 2005 

Independent Living 

Survey of the Senior 

Companion Program

Westat (for 

CNCS)

This report summarizes the findings of the 2005 Independent Living Survey, 

a service recipient survey of the Senior Companion Program (SCP). Data 

used in this report were gathered by talking with service recipients in a 

national telephone survey. The survey explored the types of services 

performed by SCs, what effect these services have on the recipients, and 

the clients' satisfaction with their individual SCs and the program generally. 

It also asked respondents to describe their health, where and how they 

lived, and collected demographic information. Results indicated that clients 

viewed SCP services as very important and overall were very satisfied with 

the program. 

Y X

2006 Retired Senior 

Volunteers AARP 

Tax Aide Program 

evaluation.

Pigatti, Leah A. The purpose of this article is to assess the success of the AARP Tax Aide 

program as it relates to training older volunteers to complete income tax 

returns and develop technology skills that will enable them to use the Tax 

Wise software and e-file returns. In the past few years, the program has 

grown in visibility in our rural communities, leading to successful results in 

terms of completing and submitting tax returns. An area of needed growth 

for the Tax Aide program has been implementation and greater utilization 

of electronic completion of tax returns and the e-filing system. Our agency 

implemented a training program to provide older volunteers with skills 

necessary to develop technological expertise. This article explains the 

training provided and successful outcomes achieved. (PsycINFO Database 

Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Y X
2006 Civic Engagement 

and National 

Service: Results 

from Senior Corps 

Evaluations.

Silva, Priyanthi 

&

Thomas, Cynthia 

(Westat)

http://search.ebsco

host.com/login.aspx

?direct=true&db=ps

yh&AN=2006-

03525-

003&site=ehost-live

Discusses a study undertaken in 2000-2001 to determine the status of 

Senior Corps programs, the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), the Senior 

Companion Program (SCP), and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program 

(currently known as RSVP). The study methodology included several steps. 

We conducted a literature review to understand the demographic patterns 

projected for the future. After reviewing reports and publications, we spoke 

with people directly involved in the work of the Senior Corps programs and 

with others active in research or practice in the field of volunteering to 

determine current strengths and limitations of the programs and prospects 

for the future. Telephone interviews were conducted with national experts, 

directors of national voluntary organizations, project directors of Foster 

Grandparent Programs, Senior Companion Programs and RSVP, and with 

Corporation State Directors. We held several focus group discussions with 

project directors in the Southwest cluster, North Central cluster, and the 

Atlantic cluster of the United States during their 2001 conferences. The 

chapter discusses the Senior Corps programs in the context of volunteering. 

Specifically, strengths of the programs are summarized and limitations to 

National Senior Corps growth are examined. The chapter concludes with a 

discussion of the National Senior Service. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 

2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Y There are multiple reports on this topic X X X

2006 Volunteering: A 

Physical Activity 

Intervention for 

Older Adults—The 

Experience Corps 

Program in 

Baltimore

Tan, E.J., QianLe, X., Li, T, 

Carlson, M.C., 

and Fried, L.P.

There is compelling evidence supporting the benefits of increased regular 

physical activity in older adults. The Experience Corps program in Baltimore 

MD was designed in part as a community based approach to increasing 

physical activity that would also appeal to older adults who have 

historically not utilized health promotion programs. The Baltimore 

Experience Corps program places older volunteers in public elementary 

schools for 15 hrs a week in roles designed to improve the academic 

outcomes of children and, simultaneously, increase the physical, cognitive 

and social

activity of volunteers. This paper reports on the change in physical activity 

levels among older adults associated with participation in the Baltimore 

Experience Corps. In a pilot randomized controlled evaluation, older adults 

were randomly assigned to Experience Corps (EC participants) or a waiting 

list control group. Ages ranged from 59–86 years, 96% were African 

American, 94% were women, and 84% had annual incomes less than 

$15,000. EC participants were required to serve at least 15 h a week. At 

follow-up after 4–8 months, an analysis of 113 randomized volunteers 

revealed 53% of the EC participants were more active than the previous 

year by self-report, as compared to 23% of the controls (p G 0.01). When 

adjusted for age, gender and education, there was a trend toward 

increased physical activity in the EC participants

as calculated by a kilocalorie per week increase of 40%, versus a 16% 

decrease in the controls (p = 0.49). EC participants who reported "low 

activity" at baseline experienced an average 110% increase in their physical 

activity at follow-up. Among the controls who were in the "low activity" 

group at baseline, there was, on average, only a 12% increase in physical 

activity (p = 0.03). Among those who were previously active, there was no 

significant difference (p = 0.30). The pilot results suggest that a high 

 

Y EC pilot study - EC studies were not ultimately 

included in the annotated bibliography or 

systematic review since they are not 

technically SC

X
2006 Engaging Older 

Adults in High 

Impact Volunteering 

that Enhances 

Health: Recruitment 

and Retention in the 

Experience Corps 

Baltimore

Martinez, I.L., 

Frick, K.D., 

Glass, T.A., 

Carlson, M., 

Tanner, E., Ricks, 

M., & Fried, L.P.

Engagement in social and generative activities has benefits for the wellbeing of older adults; hence, methods for broadly engaging them in such 

activities are desired. Experience Corps Baltimore, a social model for health 

promotion for older adult volunteers in public schools, offers insight to 

such successful recruitment and retention. We report on data over a 4-year 

period in Baltimore City, Maryland, and describe a five-stage screening 

process implemented to recruit a diverse group of senior volunteers who 

would remain in the program for at least 1 year. The sample consisted of 

443 older adults expressing an interest in and screened for volunteering. 

Comparisons were made with Chi-square and Fisher’s t-test between those 

who entered the program and those who did not and those who were 

retained in the

program. Gender, race, age group, and prior volunteering were significant 

in ultimate volunteer service in the schools. Overall, 38% of 443 persons 

recruited entered the schools; 94% of participants were over 60 years (p = 

0.05) with a mean age of 69 years; 90% were women (p = 0.03), and 93% 

African-American (p = 0.005); 57% had not volunteered in the past year (p = 

0.004). Ninety-two percent were retained in the first year; 80% returned a 

second year. Among the latter, 83% had G12 years of education (p = 0.001). 

Participants remained in the program for a second year of volunteering 

regardless of baseline MMSE score, self-reported health, and motivation 

for volunteering. In conclusion, it is possible to recruit and retain a diverse 

pool of older adults to participate in a high-intensity volunteer program, 

including nontraditional

volunteers. Of special note is the success in recruiting African-American 

women and those with lower education, who may particularly benefit from 

health promotion.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Seems to be 

about strategies for program recruitment and 

retention. Comparison groups: those 

screened who participated, those screened 

who did not participate, those who 

participated for more than one year, etc.

X

2006 Higher Education 

and Foster 

Grandparent 

Programs: Exploring 

Mutual Benefits

Peacock, J.R., & 

O'Quin, J.

The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which programs within 

institutions of higher education and Foster Grandparent Programs can 

interact to their mutual benefit. Given federal and state initiatives to 

develop linkages between institutions of higher education and community 

service sites, mutual benefits exist at the program level for both institutions 

of higher education and Foster Grandparent Programs. At the individual 

level, mutual benefits exist for both students in academic programs and 

senior volunteers. We propose that universities and colleges, including 

community colleges, and various programs within these institutions of 

higher education can beneficially interface with Foster Grandparent 

Programs through intergenerational service-learning programming. As 

such, we suggest ideas for intergenerational service-learning projects 

across a wide array of disciplines. Personal communication with Foster 

Grandparent Program directors across the nation is used to provide 

information and unique case examples in developing linkages between 

Foster Grandparent Programs and institutions of higher education.

Y Theory paper X
2006 A Service-learning 

collaboration: A 

graduate 

gerontology 

program and a 

foster grandparent 

program

Peacock, J.M, 

Flythe, M.K., and 

Jones, K.

Historically, American institutions of higher learning have embraced 

community service as a necessary component of students’ learning 

experiences. Recent initiatives through the Corporation for National and 

Community Service emphasize the idea that civic responsibility is an 

important element of an adequate education at all levels of learning. In this 

article we discuss the feasibility of integrating a graduate gerontology 

program and a Foster Grandparent Program. The integration is designed in 

such a way that, beyond sustaining the Foster Grandparent Program and 

introducing students to practical field experiences, greater community 

needs can be met. Ideally, positive outcomes will be achieved through such 

a collaborative effort, and will affect change at the individual, community, 

policy, and social structural levels.

Y Not really an evaluation of FGP, but of a 

service learning program for sociology grad 

students to work with FGP-- same content as 

above but seems to be a different source. This 

is the published version.

X

2006 Evaluating the 

Senior Companion 

Program: A MixedMethod Approach.

Butler, Sandra S. This article reports on a mixed-method assessment of the Senior 

Companion Program (SCP), a federal program which provides volunteer 

opportunities with small stipends to low-income older adults, 60 years of 

age and older, who provide companionship and offer assistance to frail 

community elders. Through four standardized scales and open-ended 

questions regarding the impact of the SCP in their lives, 34 Senior 

Companion volunteers and 32 of their clients were interviewed. Informants 

reported relatively large social networks and low levels of depression and 

loneliness. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed the benefits 

of the program for both volunteers and their clients. Themes emerging 

from the rich narratives included: companionship, independence, reduced 

anxiety, giving, and rewards. The article concludes with a suggested brief 

evaluation instrument that directors of SCP programs, and other similar 

programs, can use to collect data on the impact of their programsomething that is required, but often difficult to do. (PsycINFO Database 

Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Y Surveys of program participants and Senior 

Companions

X

2007 Civic Engagement 

Among Older Adults 

in a Rural 

Community:

A Case Study of the 

Senior Companion 

Program

Sandra S. Butler 

PhD, MSW & 

Debra Eckart MA

https://www.tandfo

nline.com/doi/abs/

10.1300/J125v15n0

3_05 

This article presents a case study of how an elder-helping-elder volunteer 

program-the Senior Companion Program promotes civic engagement 

among older adults in a rural community. In-depth interviews were 

conducted with 30 individuals in the community to assess the impact of the 

program for individual elders and the community at large. Three 

overarching themes emerged from the narrative data: Maintaining 

Community, Filling Gaps in the Service System, and Government Should Do 

More for Elders. These themes are described using research participant 

quotes. The article concludes with study implications for community 

practitioners including advocacy for program expansion.

Y This is a case study, report above is more 

rigorous

X
2008 Senior Corps 

Reports

CNCS - Shelton, 

LaMonica, Dietz, 

Nathan, 

Nicholas, 

Brooke, and 

Jennings, Shelby

In order to assess the outcomes of both the Senior Companion and Foster 

Grandparent Programs, and to determine the opportunities for expanding 

the number of Baby Boomers who participate in RSVP, the Corporation for 

National and Community Service conducted a series of surveys between 

2004 and 2006. First, the Senior Companion Program surveys were 

conducted among the clients who receive services from the Senior 

Companions. From these surveys researchers determined how Senior 

Companions contribute to the web of resources that help clients live 

independently. Second, the Foster Grandparent Program survey was 

conducted with station supervisors, mostly school principals or 

administrators of school-based programs, to gauge the impact that Foster 

Grandparents have on the young people they serve. And finally, the RSVP 

surveys were conducted to assess the landscape of Baby Boomers who 

participate in the program and to provide a possible roadmap for 

recruitment. Researchers investigated the demographics, volunteer 

history, and volunteer interest of Baby Boomers in RSVP, in hopes of 

determining any key differences between the RSVP Baby Boomers and 

other Baby Boomers who volunteer. 

Y No abstract provided X X X

2008 Gerotranscendence 

and perceptions of 

health and aging in 

older adults 

participating in a 

senior companion 

program.

Clarke, Virginia Unable to locate. This correlational, nonexperimental study examined the 

relationships among gerotranscendence, gender, age, status as a senior 

companion volunteer or agency client, presence of social support in the 

home, perceptions toward aging, and perception of health in older adults 

participating in a senior companion program. The sample included 68 

senior companion volunteers and 48 agency clients. Results indicated that 

the progression of gerotranscendence was not related to gender (t (114) = -

.321, p=.749), age (F (3,115) = .009, p=.99), status as volunteer or client (t 

(114) = -.297, p=.749) or presence of social support in the home (t (114) = -

.163, p=.104). There was a positive correlation between progression of 

gerotranscendence scores and perceptions of aging scores (r=.435, p=.01) 

and perception of health status scores (r=.381, p=.01). Perceptions of aging 

scores were positively correlated with perception of health scores (r=.644, 

p=.01). A stepwise multiple regression revealed that a positive perception 

of aging was the best predictor of gerotranscendence progression scores 

(R2 = .189, p<.001). The theory of gerotranscendence is a developmental 

theory which describes how individuals progress into old age and can 

provide a blueprint for the changes that may occur with aging. Findings of 

this study support Tornstam's claim that the developmental progression of 

aging described by the theory of gerotranscendence is healthy and positive. 

(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

N This is a dissertation and I have not been able 

to find full-text access

X
2008 Exploring the Effects 

of an “Everyday” 

Activity Program on 

Executive Function 

and Memory in 

Older Adults: 

Experience Corps®

Michelle C. 

Carlson, PhD, 

Jane S. 

Saczynski, PhD, 

George W. 

Rebok, PhD,

Teresa Seeman, 

PhD, Thomas A. 

Glass, PhD, 

Sylvia McGill, 

BA,

James Tielsch, 

PhD, Kevin D. 

Frick, PhD, Joel 

Hill, MS,

and Linda P. 

Fried, MD, MPH

Purpose: There is little empirical translation of multimodal cognitive activity 

programs in ‘‘real-world’’ community-based settings. This study sought to 

demonstrate in a short-term pilot randomized trial that such an activity 

program improves components of cognition critical to independent 

function among sedentary older adults at greatest risk. Design and

Methods: We randomized 149 older adults to Experience Corps (EC) or a 

wait-list control arm. Participants randomized to EC trained in teams to 

help elementary school children with reading achievement, library support, 

and classroom behavior for 15 hr/week during an academic year. We 

compared baseline and follow-up assessments of memory, executive 

function (EF), and psychomotor speed at 4 to 8 months by intervention 

arm, adjusting for exposure duration. We observed a range of EF abilities at 

baseline and stratified analyses according to the presence of baseline 

impairment using established norms. Results: Overall, EC participants 

tended to show improvements in EF and memory relative to matched 

controls (ps , .10). EC participants with impaired baseline EF showed the 

greatest improvements, between 44% and 51% in EF and memory at followup, compared to declines among impaired-EF controls (ps , .05). 

Implications: Short-term participation in this community-based program 

designed to increase cognitive and physical activity in a social, real-world 

setting may train memory and, particularly, executive functions important 

to functional independence. This communitybased program represents one 

potentially effective model to bring high doses of sustainable cognitive 

exercise to the greatest proportion of older adults, particularly those 

sedentary individuals at elevated risk for health disparities.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC

X

2009 The Long-Term 

Relationship 

Between HighIntensity 

Volunteering and 

Physical Activity in 

Older African 

American Women

Erwin J. Tan , 

George W. 

Rebok , Qilu Yu , 

Constantine E. 

Frangakis , 

Michelle C. 

Carlson , Tao 

Wang, Michelle 

Ricks , Elizabeth 

K. Tanner , Sylvia 

McGill, and 

Linda P. Fried 

Objectives. Experience Corps (EC) places older volunteers in public 

elementary schools in 20 cities across the country. The EC program in 

Baltimore is a health promotion intervention designed to improve the 

academic outcomes of

children and increase older adult volunteer physical activity. We sought to 

determine if there were sustained increases in physical activity with 

participation in EC. Methods. Seventy-one African American women 

volunteers in the Baltimore EC were compared with 150 African American 

women in the Women’s Health and Aging Studies (WHAS) I and II; all were 

aged 65 – 86 years with comparable Social Economic Status , frailty, and 

self-reported health status. Using a regression model, we evaluated 

physical activity adjusting for a propensity score and time of follow-up over 

3 years.

Results. EC volunteers reported a sustained increase in physical activity as 

compared with the comparison cohort.

Baseline physical activity for individuals with a median propensity score 

was 420 kcal/wk for both groups. At 36 months,

EC volunteers reported 670 kcal/week compared with 410 kcal/week in 

WHAS ( p = .04). Discussion. These findings suggest that high-intensity 

senior service programs that are designed as health promotion 

interventions could lead to sustained improvements in physical activity in 

high-risk older adults, while simultaneously addressing important 

community needs.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Referenced 

in CNCS brief on aging-- study on Experience 

Corps where volunteers reported increased 

physical activity

X
2009 Evidence for 

neurocognitive 

plasticity in at-risk 

older adults: the 

experience corps 

program.

Carlson MC, 

Erickson KI, 

Kramer AF, Voss 

MW, Bolea N, 

Mielke M, 

McGill S, Rebok 

GW, Seeman T, 

Fried LP.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Experience Corps (EC), a social service 

program, would improve age-vulnerable executive functions and increase 

activity in brain regions in a high-risk group through increased cognitive and 

physical activity. METHODS: Eight community-dwelling, older female 

volunteers and nine matched wait-list controls were recruited to serve in 

the ongoing EC: Baltimore program in three elementary schools. We 

employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) preintervention 

and postintervention to examine whether EC volunteers improved 

executive function and showed increased activity in the prefrontal cortex 

relative to controls. fMRI volunteers were trained and placed with other 

volunteers 15 h/wk for 6 months during the academic year to assist 

teachers in kindergarten through third grade to promote children's literacy 

and academic achievement. RESULTS: Participants were African American 

and had low education, low income, and low Mini-Mental State 

Examination scores (M = 24), indicative of elevated risk for cognitive 

impairment. Volunteers exhibited intervention-specific increases in brain 

activity in the left prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex over the 6-

month interval relative to matched controls. Neural gains were matched by 

behavioral improvements in executive inhibitory ability. CONCLUSIONS: 

Using fMRI, we demonstrated intervention-specific short-term gains in 

executive function and in the activity of prefrontal cortical regions in older 

adults at elevated risk for cognitive impairment. These pilot results provide 

proof of concept for use-dependent brain plasticity in later life, and, that 

interventions designed to promote health and function through everyday 

activity may enhance plasticity in key regions that support executive 

function.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Pre-post 

relative to controls-- participants showed 

increases in executive functioning and results 

supported the positive impact of volunteering 

for cognitive functioning. Small sample. 

Unclear how matching was done.

X

2009 New York City's 

Foster Grandparent 

Program: A Model 

of Older Volunteer 

Management

Evans, G., & 

Carnegie, L.

https://www.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu

bmed/19772209

It is generally acknowledged that older persons represent a vast- and 

largely untapped-volunteer resource for America's communities 

(Reinventing Aging, 2003). It is also now axiomatic that older people need 

to feel socially useful and productive in order to age well. Developing 

opportunities for seniors to serve their communities is, therefore, clearly in 

the interest of everyone concerned. This article will discuss the National 

Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) to draw some lessons about win-win 

older volunteer program design. It will also review New York City's Foster 

Grandparent Program, administered by the New York City Department for 

the Aging (DFTA), as a model of effective implementation.

Y Retrieved through ILL (4/25) X
2009 Potential for 

Intensive 

Volunteering to 

Promote the Health 

of Older Adults in 

Fair Health

Barron, J.S., Tan, 

E.J., Yi, Q., Song, 

M., McGill, S., & 

Fried, L.P.

Volunteer service opportunities for older adults may soon be expanded. 

Although volunteering is thought to provide health benefits for healthier 

older adults, it is not known whether older adults in less than very good 

health are suitable candidates for high-intensity volunteering and can 

derive health benefits. This manuscript presents a prospective analysis of 

174 older adult volunteers serving in Experience Corps Baltimore®, a highintensity senior volunteer program in Baltimore, Maryland. Volunteers 

served ≥15 h per week, for a full school year, in elementary schools helping 

children with reading and other skills between 1999 and 2002. Volunteers 

were assessed with standardized questionnaires and performance-based 

testing including grip strength, walking speed, chair stand speed, and stairclimbing speed prior to school volunteering and at the end of the school 

year. Results were stratified by health status. Among 174 volunteers, 55% 

initially reported “good” and 12% “fair” or “poor" health status. At 

baseline, those in fair health reported higher frequencies of disease and 

disability than volunteers in excellent or very good health. After 

volunteering, a majority of volunteers in every baseline health status 

category described increased strength and energy. Those in fair health were 

significantly more likely to display improved stair-climbing speed than 

those in good or excellent/very good health

(100.0% vs. 53.4% vs. 37.5%, p=0.05), and many showed clinically 

significant increases in walking speed of 90.5 m/s. Satisfaction and 

retention rates were high for all health status groups. Clinicians should 

consider whether their patients in fair or good health, as well as those in 

better health, might benefit from high-intensity volunteer programs. 

Productive activity such as volunteering may be an effective communitybased approach to health promotion for older adults.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Found that 

volunteers reported increases in strength and 

energy and that those in fair health were 

more ikely likely to show improvements in 

stair-climbing speed (i.e.- non-self-reported 

health outcomes over time)

X

2009 Evidence for 

Neurocognitive 

Plasticity in At-Risk 

Older Adults: The 

Experience Corps 

Program

Carlson, M.C., 

Erickson, K.I., 

Kramer, A.,F., 

Voss, M.W., 

Bolea, N., 

Mielke, M., 

McGill, S., 

Rebok, G.W., 

Seeman, T., & 

Fried, L.P.

Objective. To determine whether Experience Corps (EC), a social service 

program, would improve age-vulnerable

executive functions and increase activity in brain regions in a high-risk 

group through increased cognitive and physical

activity. Methods. Eight community-dwelling, older female volunteers and 

nine matched wait-list controls were recruited to serve in the ongoing EC: 

Baltimore program in three elementary schools. We employed functional 

magnetic resonance

imaging (fMRI) preintervention and postintervention to examine whether 

EC volunteers improved executive function and

showed increased activity in the prefrontal cortex relative to controls. fMRI 

volunteers were trained and placed with other

volunteers 15 h/wk for 6 months during the academic year to assist 

teachers in kindergarten through third grade to promote children ’ s literacy 

and academic achievement. Results. Participants were African American 

and had low education, low income, and low Mini-Mental State 

Examination scores ( M = 24), indicative of elevated risk for cognitive 

impairment. Volunteers exhibited intervention-specific increases in brain 

activity in the left prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex over the 6-

month interval relative to matched controls. Neural gains were matched by 

behavioral improvements in executive inhibitory ability. Conclusions. Using 

fMRI, we demonstrated intervention-specifi c short-term gains in executive 

function and in the activity of prefrontal cortical regions in older adults at 

elevated risk for cognitive impairment. These pilot results provide proof of 

concept for use-dependent brain plasticity in later life, and, that 

interventions designed to promote health and function through everyday 

activity may enhance plasticity in key regions that support executive 

function.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. May be a 

duplicate of #68 above

X
2009 Evaluation of 

Experience Corps: 

Student Reading 

Outcomes

Morrow-Howell, 

N., Jonson-Reid, 

M., McCrary, S., 

Lee, Y.S., 

Spitznagel, E.

In 2006, researchers at the Center for Social Development at Washington 

University’s Brown School of Social Work were awarded a grant from The 

Atlantic Philanthropies to evaluate the effects of the Experience Corps 

program on student reading outcomes. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. 

(MPR) provided data collection services. Twenty-three schools in Boston, 

New York City, and Port Arthur, Texas, participated in the study. A two 

group, pre-post test design with random assignment was used to assess the 

effects of the EC program. At the beginning of the school year, teachers 

referred all students who needed assistance with reading. Students were 

randomly assigned to the EC program, as there were not enough tutors to 

serve all of the referred students. Over 1,000 students were referred. 

Parental consent was obtained on 81% of the referred students, and 883 

students were pretested. At posttest, 825 students were reassessed. The EC 

program tutored 430 of these students, and 451 were in the control group. 

There were 332 1st, 304 2nd, and 186 3rd graders; 420 males and 402 

females in the final dataset.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC

X

2010 Health outcomes of 

Experience Corps: a 

high-commitment 

volunteer program.

Hong, S.I. & 

Morrow-Howell, 

N.

Experience Corps (EC) is a high-commitment US volunteer program that 

brings older adults into public elementary schools to improve academic 

achievement of students. It is viewed as a health promotion program for 

the older volunteers. We evaluated the effects of the EC program on older 

adults' health, using a quasi-experimental design. We included volunteers 

from 17 EC sites across the US. They were pre-tested before beginning their 

volunteer work and post-tested after two years of service. We compared 

changes over time between the EC participants (n = 167) and a matched 

comparison group of people from the US Health and Retirement Study 

(2004, 2006). We developed the comparison group by using the nearest 

available Mahalanobis metric matching within calipers combined with the 

boosted propensity scores of those participating in the EC. We corrected 

for clustering effects via survey regression analyses with robust standard 

errors and calculated adjusted post-test means of health outcomes, 

controlling for all covariates and the boosted propensity score of EC 

participants. We found that compared to the comparison group, the EC 

group reported fewer depressive symptoms and functional limitations after 

two years of participation in the program, and there was a statistical trend 

toward the EC group reporting less decline in self-rated health. Results of 

this study add to the evidence supporting high-intensity volunteering as a 

social model of health promotion for older adults.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC

X
2010 Marketing Public 

Health Through 

Older Adult 

Volunteering: 

Experience Corps as 

a Social Marketing 

Intervention

Tan et al. Objectives. We present a social marketing conceptual framework for 

Experience Corps Baltimore City (EC) in which the desired health outcome is 

not the promoted product or behavior. We also demonstrate the feasibility 

of a social marketing–based recruitment campaign for the first year of the 

Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (BECT), a randomized, controlled trial of 

the health benefits of EC participation for older adults. Methods. We 

recruited older adults from the Baltimore, MD, area. Participants 

randomized to the intervention were placed in public schools in volunteer 

roles designed to increase healthy behaviors. We examined the 

effectiveness of a recruitment message that appealed to generativity (i.e., 

to make a difference for the next generation), rather than potential health 

benefits. Results. Among the 155 participants recruited in the first year of 

the BECT, the average age was 69 years; 87% were women and 85% were 

African American. Participants reported primarily generative motives as 

their reason for interest in the BECT. Conclusions. Public health 

interventions embedded in civic engagement have the potential to engage 

older adults who might not respond to a direct appeal to improve their 

health.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Doesn't 

seem to include results-- referenced in CNCS 

fact sheet on the health benefits of 

volunteering, but the actual study with the 

results of the Experience Corps RCT may be a 

different report. (This may be an interim early 

report. The focus is on EC recruitment 

strategies.)

X

2010 Older Adults and 

Retired Teachers 

Address Teacher 

Retention in Urban 

Schools

Martinez, I.L., 

Frick, K.D., Kim, 

K.S., & Fried, L.P.

Teacher attrition is a costly and persistent problem in urban schools. The 

objective of this study was to evaluate senior volunteers’ potential impact 

for improving teacher retention. We conducted interviews with six 

principals, 20 teachers, and six retired educators participating in the 

Experience Corps Baltimore program. Findings indicate that older adult

volunteers may enhance teacher retention by improving classroom 

environments and by positively influencing some factors related to teacher 

attrition, including effort and satisfaction, as well as reducing absenteeism. 

While all senior volunteers can provide benefits with adequate training, 

retired teachers may provide greater benefits in teacher retention.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC

X

2010 Examining The 

Effects of New York 

Experience Corps 

Program on Young 

Readers

Gattis, M.N., 

Morrow-Howell, 

N., McCrary, S., 

Lee, M., JonsonReid, M., 

McCoy, H., 

Tamar, K., 

Molina, A., & 

Invernizzi, M.

There are hundreds of tutoring programs that utilize community volunteers 

being implemented across the country; however, there are few rigorous 

efforts to evaluate their effectiveness. This article presents findings on 

reading achievement from an evaluation of the New York City Experience 

Corps® , a program that uses older volunteers to work with students in 

public elementary schools. Two hundred and eighty-eight first- and secondgrade students participated in a pre-test/post-test two group design with 

randomization to assess the impact of the program on their reading 

abilities. Reading was assessed using the Phonological Awareness Literacy 

Screening (PALS) and Early Childhood Literary Assessment System (ECLAS). 

Results indicate that Experience Corps is effective at improving reading 

scores. This study provides evidence that older volunteers can be 

successfully utilized to tutor young readers.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. 

Improvements in child reading scores

X
2010 Marketing Public 

Health through 

Older Adult 

Volunteering: 

Experience Corps as 

a Social Marketing 

Intervention

Tan, E.J., 

Tanner, E.K., 

Seeman, T.E., 

Xue, Q.L., 

Rebok, G.W., 

Frick, K.D., 

Carlson, M.C., 

Wang, T., Piferi, 

R.L., McGill, S., 

Whitfield, K.E., 

& Fried, L.P.

Objectives. We present a social marketing conceptual framework for 

Experience Corps Baltimore City (EC) in which the desired health outcome is 

not the promoted product or behavior. We also demonstrate the feasibility 

of a social marketing–based recruitment campaign for the first year of the 

Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (BECT), a randomized, controlled trial of 

the health benefits of EC participation for older adults. Methods. We 

recruited older adults from the Baltimore, MD, area. Participants 

randomized to the intervention were placed in public schools in volunteer 

roles

designed to increase healthy behaviors. We examined the effectiveness of a 

recruitment message that appealed to generativity (i.e., to make a 

difference for the next generation), rather than potential health benefits. 

Results. Among the 155 participants recruited in the first year of the BECT, 

the average age was 69 years; 87% were women and 85% were African 

American. Participants reported primarily generative motives as their 

reason for interest in the BECT. Conclusions. Public health interventions 

embedded in civic engagement have the potential to engage older adults 

who might not respond to a direct appeal to improve their health.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Focused on 

the feasibility of a marketing campaign, not 

examining impacts/outcomes. 

X

2010 Health Outcomes of 

Experience Corps: A 

High-Commitment 

Volunteer Program

Hong, S.I., & 

Morrow-Howell, 

N.

ExperienceCorps(EC) is a high-commitment US volunteer program that 

brings older adults into public elementary schools to improve academic 

achievement of students. It is viewed as a health promotion program for 

the older volunteers. We evaluated the effects of the EC program on older 

adults’ health, using a quasi-experimental design. We included volunteers 

from 17 EC sites across the US. They were pre-tested before beginning their 

volunteer work and post-tested after two years of service. We compared 

changes over time between the EC participants (n = 167) and a matched 

comparison group of people from the US Health and Retirement Study 

(2004,2006). We developed the comparison group by using the nearest 

available Mahalanobis metric matching within calipers combined with the 

boosted propensity scores of those participating in the EC. We corrected 

for clustering effects via survey regression analyses with robust standard 

errors and calculated adjusted post-test means of health outcomes, 

controlling for all covariates and the boosted propensity score of EC 

participants. We found that compared to the comparison group, the EC 

group reported fewer depressive symptoms and functional limitations after 

two years of participation in the program, and there was a statistical trend 

toward the EC group reporting less decline in self-rated health. Results of 

this study add to the evidence supporting high-intensity volunteering as a 

social model of health promotion for older adults.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC

X
2010 The Effect of the 

Experience Corps 

Program on Student 

Reading Outcomes

Lee, Y.S., 

Morrow-Howell, 

N., Jonson-Reid, 

M., & McCrary, 

S.

A randomized field trial involving 883 students at 23 schools in three urban 

cities assessed the effectiveness of Experience Corps® (EC), a program that 

places older adult volunteers in elementary schools to tutor students who 

are poor readers. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the 

academic year with standardized reading measures. Program effects were 

analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to adjust for 

clustering effects. Findings demonstrated that EC students made 

statistically greater gains over the academic year on passage 

comprehension and grade-specific reading skills. The gains were stronger 

for students who received at least 35 tutoring sessions. These findings 

indicate that older community volunteers can be effectively deployed to 

improve reading achievement in low income, ethnic minority children who 

are at risk of reading failure.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. 

Improvements in child reading scores

X

2012 Senior Corps--RSVP: 

Disaster Services 

and Community 

Resilience During 

2012 Colorado 

Wildfires.

Erwin Tan, MD, 

Ventana 

Harding, MPA,

 Christopher 

Spera, PhD, and 

Kelly Menzie

DeGraff, Bs

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This study looked at how Americans age 55 and older can also be part of 

community solutions to disasters through National Service programs such 

as RSVP. IT focuses specifically on how Senior Corps volunteers were 

engaged in responding to the 2012 wildfires in Jefferson, El Paso, and 

Larimer Counties in Colorado.

The study found that: (1) RSVP grantees can effectively recruit, train, and 

deploy volunteers in disaster service-specific roles and in dual benefit roles 

in support of community resilience (CR). (2) The vast majority of volunteers 

who served during the wildfires served at their routine volunteer stations in 

a dual benefit role in support of CR. (3) The majority of hours served by 

RSVP volunteers during the wildfires were served by a relatively small 

group of volunteers with disaster-specific skills; this example reinforces 

how traditional disaster preparedness complements CR. (4) Experience 

with traditional disaster service activity, volunteer coordination capacity, 

and established service placement relationships may also have been 

important in the Denver and Larimer County RSVP Projects capacity to 

redeploy volunteers in support of CR.

It should be noted, however, that RSVP grantees had difficulty collecting 

data on the number of unduplicated people who served in the midst of a 

disaster. RSVP grantees will likely need continued technical assistance to 

collect impact and other data in future disaster response settings.

Y X
2012 The Costs of 

Experience Corps in 

Public Schools

Frick, K.D., 

McGill, S., Tan, 

E.J., Rebok, 

G.W., Carson, 

M.C., Tanner, 

E.K., & Fried, 

L.P.

Objective: To describe the annual operational costs of a mature Experience 

Corps program in elementary schools in the Baltimore City Public School 

System. Methods: Systematic records of expenditures kept by the 

community partner, Greater Homewood Community Corporation, to be 

reported to funders were made available for analysis. Expenditures were 

aggregated to the level of fiscal year and grouped in categories in 

consultation with the community partner. Results: Expenditures to provide 

reimbursement to volunteers and to administer this complex volunteer 

program in an environment in which the school district needed additional 

management resources for such a program dominate the total 

expenditures. In the 2008 fiscal year, the program provided 158,305 hours 

of older adult volunteer service to public elementary schools in Baltimore 

City and the cost per volunteer hour was $9.79; in the 2009 fiscal year the 

program provided 157,238 hours of older adult volunteer service and the 

cost per volunteer hour was $9.60. This suggests consistency and may also 

suggest that the program is becoming more efficient over time. Conclusion: 

The costs

presented represent the costs of running a mature program after an initial 

investment has been made. These costs would need to be compared with 

the short-term and long-term benefits to the older adult volunteers, the 

school children, other school personnel, and the schools’ and volunteers’ 

communities to perform a comprehensive benefit-cost analysis to inform 

public policy.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Expenditure 

results.

X

2013 The Senior 

Connection: Design 

and rationale of a 

randomized

trial of peer 

companionship to 

reduce suicide risk 

in

later life

Kimberly A., Van 

Orden., Deborah 

M. Stone., Jody 

Rowe., Wndy L., 

Mclntosh Carol 

Podgorski, 

Yeates Conwell.

There is a pressing public health need to find interventions that reduce 

suicide risk in later life.Psychiatric and physical illness, functional decline, 

and social factors place seniors at risk for suicide. Reflecting this body of 

evidence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has 

identified the promotion and strengthening of social connectedness, 

between and within the individual, family, community, and broader societal 

levels, as a key strategy for suicide prevention. The Senior Connection, a 

randomized trial of peer companionship for older adults, is described here, 

with an emphasis on the most novel features of the study 

design—grounding in a psychological theory of suicide and intervening at 

an early stage in the suicide risk trajectory by linking primary care patients 

with the Aging Services Provider Network. 

Y Describes the design of an RCT study linking 

socially disconnected seniors with peer 

supports through the RSVP designed to look 

at impacts on suicide risk, doesn't contain 

results

X

2013 Senior Corps RSVP 

2013 GARP:

Exploring Why Some 

Organizations Did 

Not Apply

Following the most recent release of its Notice of Funding Opportunity 

(NOFO), the number of applications to the 2013 RSVP grant competition 

was lower than Senior Corps program staff anticipated. Of the 292 

individual funding opportunities in the NOFO, 62 had no applicants, and 

215 had only 1 applicant. Although 512 potential applicants submitted 

letters of intent, only 230 completed the application process.

Y X
2013 Experience Corps: a 

dual trial to 

promote the health 

of older adults and 

children’s academic 

success.

Fried LP, Carlson 

MC, McGill S, et 

al.

Background: As the population ages, older adults are seeking meaningful, 

and impactful, post-retirement roles. As a society, improving the health of 

people throughout longer lives is a major public health goal. This paper 

presents the design and rationale for an effectiveness trial of Experience 

CorpsTM, an intervention created to address both these needs. This trial 

evaluates (1) whether senior volunteer roles within Experience CorpsTM 

beneficially impact children's academic achievement and classroom 

behavior in public elementary schools and (2) impact on the health of 

volunteers.

Methods: Dual evaluations of (1) an intention-to-treat trial randomizing 

eligible adults 60 and older to volunteer service in Experience CorpsTM, or to 

a control arm of usual volunteering opportunities, and (2) a comparison of 

eligible public elementary schools receiving Experience CorpsTM to matched, 

eligible control schools in a 1:1 control:intervention school ratio. 

Outcomes: For older adults, the primary outcome is decreased disability in 

mobility and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). Secondary 

outcomes are decreased frailty, falls, and memory loss; slowed loss of 

strength, balance, walking speed, cortical plasticity, and executive function; 

objective performance of IADLs; and increased social and psychological 

engagement. For children, primary outcomes are improved reading 

achievement and classroom behavior in Kindergarten through the 3rd 

grade; secondary outcomes are improvements in school climate, teacher 

morale and retention, and teacher perceptions of older adults.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. This report 

does not contain the results of the RCT-- just 

an overview of the design

X

2013 The impact of 

volunteering on 

seniors' health and 

quality of life: An 

assessment of the 

Retired and Senior 

Volunteer Program

McDonald, T.W., 

Chown, E.L., 

Tabb, J.E., 

Schaeffer, A.K., 

& Howard, 

E.K.M.

Past research suggests that senior citizens often face challenges related to 

deteriorating physical and mental health, and the quality of their lives may 

suffer as a result. Past research also suggests that volunteering can improve 

the health and quality of life for seniors. In the present study, 451 

volunteers enrolled in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) 

completed surveys including questions regarding their volunteer 

experiences and how these experiences have affected their health and 

quality of life. The results suggest that volunteering through RSVP is 

associated with improvements in health and quality of life across a variety 

of dimensions. Furthermore, these improvements may be particularly 

greater for women, current volunteers, and older seniors. These findings 

may help guide interventions designed to enhance the health and wellbeing of senior citizens in a variety of settings.

Y X

2014 Corporation for 

National and 

Community Service 

(2014). Volunteer 

Study Pennsylvania.

Anthony Nerino The Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and Senior Companion Program 

(SCP) Volunteer Study surveyed a census of the FGP and SCP volunteers 

during Fiscal Year 2013. The survey results describe member characteristics 

of the Foster Grand Parent and Senior Companion programs and report on 

the volunteers’ psychosocial health and self-efficacy, perceived social ties 

and social support.

Y This is a results report for one state and not 

applicable to our national review

X X
2014 Descriptive Report 

for the Senior 

Companion Program 

Independent Living 

Pilot/Feasibility 

Survey.

Annie Georges, 

Susan Gabbard, 

Carmen Sum, 

Peter Lovegrove, 

Sara Macdonald. 

This descriptive report, funded by the Corporation for National and 

Community Service (CNCS), describes the findings from both surveys. The 

report describes the background characteristics of SCP clients, their selfefficacy, medical conditions and social and emotional outcomes. The 

sections of this report are as follows. Since this was a pilot study, the first 

half of the report describes the methodology. The report describes the 

development and pre-testing of the questionnaire, followed by the data 

collection procedures including the procedures for communicating with SCP 

grantees as well as the training provided to conduct surveys with elderly 

clients. The report then describes the sampling approach, followed by a 

discussion on data processing and nonresponse bias analysis. The second 

half of the report presents findings from the cross-sectional survey of 557 

established SCP clients, followed by a discussion of the longitudinal pilot 

pre/post survey of 20 newly enrolled SCP clients. The report concludes with 

a discussion of recommendations for future research.

Y If we have more rigorous studies we may not 

include this one. Outcomes (n=557) and prepost (n=20).

X

2014 SCP Independent 

Living Performance 

Measurement 

Survey: Process, 

Rationale, Results, 

and 

Recommendations

Donald Pratt, 

Peter Lovegrove, 

Claudia 

Birmingham, 

Leith Lombas, 

Nicole 

Vicinanza, Annie 

Georges, Susan 

Gabbard. 

The Senior Companion Program (SCP) Independent Living Study is an 

important initiative undertaken by the Corporation for National and 

Community Service (CNCS) to assess the effectiveness of Senior Corps 

Programs and to build grantee capacity to contribute to the evidence base 

for informed decision-making and allocation of resources. CNCS’s goal is to 

increase the impact of national service in communities served by CNCSsupported programs. The data gathered through this study will assist CNCS 

to begin assessing the performance of SCP at the national level using 

output and outcome measures. The specific outputs of interest under Goal 

1 are the amount of SCP -supported independent living and respite services 

received, and the percent of homebound or older adults and individuals 

with disabilities and their caregivers that received CNCS-supported services 

who report having increased social ties and perceived social support. 

This report presents the results and findings from the client and caregiver 

surveys to assess clients’ and caregivers’ experiences and perceptions of 

program benefits. The report also discusses grantees’ experience in 

administering the survey, including their use of technical assistance. The 

data presented include the survey response rate and an analysis using 

several statistical techniques to assess the reliability and validity of the 

survey data.

Y Same study as referenced above, but this 

actually includes results

X
2014 Can Senior 

Volunteers Deliver 

Reminiscence and 

Creative Activity 

Interventions? 

Results of the 

Legacy Intervention 

Family Enactment 

Randomized 

Controlled Trial

Allen, R.S. et al. Context. Palliative care patients and their family caregivers may have a 

foreshortened perspective of the time left to live, or the expectation of the 

patient’s death in the near future. Patients and caregivers may report 

distress in physical, psychological, or existential/spiritual realms. 

Objectives. To conduct a randomized controlled trial examining the 

effectiveness of retired senior volunteers (RSVs) in delivering a 

reminiscence and creative activity intervention aimed at alleviating 

palliative care patient and caregiver distress. Methods. Of the 45 dyads that 

completed baseline assessments, 28 completed postintervention and 24 

completed follow-up assessments. The intervention group received three 

home visits by RSVs; control group families received three supportive 

telephone calls by the research staff. Measures included symptom 

assessment and associated burden, depression, religiousness/spirituality, 

and meaning in life. Results. Patients in the intervention group reported a 

significantly greater reduction in frequency of emotional symptoms (P 1⁄4 

0.02) and emotional symptom bother (P 1⁄4 0.04) than the control group, as 

well as improved spiritual functioning. Family caregivers in the intervention 

group were more likely than control caregivers to endorse items on the 

Meaning of Life Scale (P 1⁄4 0.02). Only improvement in intervention 

patients’ emotional symptom bother maintained at follow-up after 

discontinuing RSV contact (P 1⁄4 0.024). Conclusion. Delivery of the 

intervention by RSVs had a positive impact on palliative care patients’ 

emotional symptoms and burden and caregivers’ meaning in life. 

Meaningful prolonged engagement with palliative care patients and 

caregivers, possibly through alternative modes of treatment delivery such 

as continued RSV contact, may be necessary for maintenance of 

therapeutic effects.

Y Is this really RSVP? Yes X

2015 First Report of the 

National Evaluation 

of RSVP

Annie Georges, 

Susan Gabbard, 

Ashley Wendell 

Kranjac. 

The current report focuses on the first objective which is to describe the 

characteristics of RSVP volunteers, including how volunteers are distributed 

across CNCS’s performance measure categories, and how volunteers 

allocated their time to the service activities across the performance 

measure categories. Specifically, this report addresses the following 

questions: (1) What are the demographic and background characteristics of 

RSVP volunteers? (2) What types of service activities do RSVP volunteers 

engaged in? (3) How much time do RSVP volunteers dedicate to their 

primary service activity? (4) Are there differences in volunteers’ 

engagement in service activities by gender, age, and length of service in the 

RSVP program? The sample of 1,499 volunteers was drawn from 33 RSVP 

grantees that reported Periodic Progress Report (PPR) data in April 2013. 

JBS selected the sample of volunteers using a two-stage stratified 

probability proportionate to size (PPS) method. The size measure was 

based on the number of unduplicated RSVP volunteers. The first stage of 

sampling sampled the 33 grantees using PPS within each of three strata, 

which was based on the number of unduplicated volunteers in that 

stratum. All 33 RSVP grantees participated in the study. The second stage 

sampled the 1,499 volunteers drawn from the lists of volunteers provided 

by the 33 grantees. There were 849 volunteers that completed the survey, 

yielding an overall response rate of 57 percent. Data collection began in 

December 2014 and ended in July 2015. 

Y X
2015 Impact of 

Experience Corps® 

Participation on 

School Climate

Jeanine M. Parisi 

& Christine M. 

Ramsey & 

Michelle C. 

Carlson &

Qian-Li Xue & Jin 

Huang & William 

A. Romani & 

Sylvia McGill &

Teresa E. 

Seeman & 

Elizabeth K. 

Tanner & 

Jeremy Barron & 

Erwin J. Tan & 

Tara L. 

Gruenewald & 

Ike Diibor & 

Linda P. Fried & 

George W. 

Rebok

We examined the impact of the Experience Corps® (EC) program on school 

climate within Baltimore City public

elementary schools. In this program, teams of older adult volunteers were 

placed in high intensity (>15 h per week), meaningful roles in public 

elementary schools, to improve the educational outcomes of children as 

well as the health and wellbeing of volunteers. During the first year of EC 

participation, school climate was perceived more favorably among staff and 

students in EC schools as compared to those in comparison schools. 

However, with a few notable exceptions, perceived school climate did not 

differ for staff or students in intervention and comparison schools during 

the second year of exposure to the EC program. These findings suggest that 

perceptions of school climate may be altered by introducing a new program 

into elementary schools; however, research examining how perceptions of 

school climate are impacted over a longer period is warranted.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Changes in 

school climate.

X

2015 Increases in Lifestyle 

Activities as a Result 

of Experience Corps

(R) Participation

Jeanine M. 

Parisi, Julie Kuo, 

George W. 

Rebok, Qian-Li 

Xue, Linda P. 

Fried, Tara L. 

Gruenewald,

Jin Huang, 

Teresa E. 

Seeman, David 

L. Roth, 

Elizabeth K. 

Tanner, and 

Michelle C. 

Carlson

Experience Corps® (EC) was designed to simultaneously increase cognitive, 

social, and physical activity through high-intensity volunteerism in 

elementary school classrooms. It is, therefore, highly likely that EC 

participation may alter pre-existing patterns of lifestyle activity. This study 

examined the impact of “real-world” volunteer engagement on the 

frequency of participation in various lifestyle activities over a 2-year period. 

Specifically, we examined intervention-related changes on reported activity 

levels at 12 and 24 months post-baseline using Intention-to-Treat (ITT) and 

Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) analyses, which account for the 

amount of program exposure. ITT analyses indicated that, compared to the 

control group, EC participants reported modest increases (approximately 

half a day/month) in overall activity level, especially in intellectual and 

physical activities 12 months post-baseline. Increases in activity were not 

found at the 24-month assessment. CACE models revealed similar findings 

for overall activity as well as for intellectual and physical activities at 12 

months. Additionally, CACE findings suggested modest increases in social 

activity at 12 months and in intellectual and passive activities at 24 months 

post-baseline. This community-based, health promotion intervention has 

the potential to impact lifestyle activity, which may lead to long-term 

increases in activity and to other positive cognitive, physical, and 

psychosocial health outcomes.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Increases in 

activity level at 12-months but not 24

X
2015 Impact of the 

Baltimore 

Experience Corps 

Trial on cortical and 

hippocampal 

volumes

Michelle C. 

Carlson, Julie H. 

Kuoc, Yi-Fang 

Chuanga,d, Vijay 

R. Varmaa,b, 

Greg Harrisb, 

Marilyn S. 

Alberte, Kirk I. 

Ericksonf, Arthur 

F. Kramerg, 

Jeanine M. 

Parisia, Qian-Li 

Xueb,h, Eriwn J. 

Tani, Elizabeth 

K. Tannerb,j, 

Alden L. 

Grossb,c, Teresa 

E. Seemank, 

Tara L. 

Gruenewaldl, 

Sylvia McGillm, 

George W. 

Reboka, Linda P. 

Fried

https://www.alzhei

mersanddementia.c

om/article/S1552-

5260(15)00061-

8/pdf

Introduction: There is a substantial interest in identifying interventions that 

can protect and buffer older adults from atrophy in the cortex and 

particularly, the hippocampus, a region important to memory. We report 

the 2-year effects of a randomized controlled trial of an intergenerational 

social health promotion program on older men's and women's brain 

volumes. Methods: The Brain Health Study simultaneously enrolled, 

evaluated, and randomized 111 men and women (58 interventions; 53 

controls) within the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial to evaluate the 

intervention impact on biomarkers of brain health at baseline and annual 

follow-ups during the 2-year trial exposure. Results: Intention-to-treat 

analyses on cortical and hippocampal volumes for full and sex-stratified 

samples revealed program-specific increases in volumes that reached 

significance in men only (P's ≤ .04). Although men in the control arm 

exhibited age-related declines for 2 years, men in the Experience Corps arm 

showed a 0.7% to 1.6% increase in brain volumes. Women also exhibited 

modest intervention-specific gains of 0.3% to 0.54% by the second year of 

exposure that contrasted with declines of about 1% among women in the 

control group. Discussion: These findings showed that purposeful activity 

embedded within a social health promotion program halted and, in men, 

reversed declines in brain volume in regions vulnerable to dementia

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. Increases in 

cortical volume

X

2015 Senior Companion 

Program 

Volunteers: 

Exploring 

Experiences, 

Transformative 

Rituals, and 

Recruitment/Retenti

on Issues

Ulsperger, J.S., 

McElroy, J., 

Robertson, H., & 

Ulsperger, K.

Senior Companion Programs (SCPs) help the homebound elderly. They 

operate through local Area Agencies on

Aging, but any nonprofit institution can apply for funding and operate a 

SCP. Program volunteers are 55 and older.

They visit qualified elderly clients, which includes people who do not have 

the ability to fully care for themselves.

Volunteers provide social interaction to clients, but they also provide a 

minimal level of services, such as grocery

shopping, light housekeeping, and respite for caregivers. Examining the 

experiences of volunteers in these programs

can help us better understand why actively engaging with others is 

important as we age. It can also help us establish a

knowledge base that aids in our understanding of how to recruit and retain 

senior volunteers. This article uses data

gathered from phenomenologically based, qualitative in-depth interviews 

of 10 SCP volunteers. Focusing on volunteer

experiences, it uses structural ritualization theory to analyze various 

volunteer activities, which the research considers

ritualized symbolic practices. It also considers how transformative rituals 

within a SCP impact volunteerism, and it

provides recommendations on how to increase SCP volunteer recruitment 

and retain volunteers. The article concludes

with suggestions for future research.

Y X
2015 The Baltimore 

Experience Corps 

Trial: Enhancing 

Generativity Via 

Intergenerational 

Activity Engagement 

in Later Life

Tara L. 

Gruenewald, 

Elizabeth K. 

Tanner, Linda P. 

Fried, Michelle 

C. Carlson, QianLi Xue,

Jeanine M. 

Parisi, George 

W. Rebok, Lisa 

M. Yarnell, and 

Teresa E. 

Seeman

Objectives: Being and feeling generative, defined as exhibiting concern and 

behavior to benefit others, is an important

developmental goal of midlife and beyond. Although a growing body of 

evidence suggests mental and physical health benefits of feeling generative 

in later life, little information exists as to the modifiability of generativity 

perceptions. The present study examines whether participation in the 

intergenerational civic engagement program, Experience Corps (EC), 

benefits older adults’ self-perceptions of generativity. Method: Levels of 

generativity were compared in older adults randomized to serve as EC 

volunteers or controls (usual volunteer opportunities) in the Baltimore 

Experience Corps Trial at 4-, 12-, and 24-month evaluation points over the 2-

year trial. Analyses utilized intention-to-treat and complier average causal 

effects (CACE) analyses which incorporate degree of intervention exposure 

in analytic models.

Results: Participants randomized to the EC group had significantly higher 

levels of generative desire and perceptions of generative achievement than 

controls at each follow-up point; CACE analyses indicate a dose–response 

effect with a greater magnitude of intervention effect with greater 

exposure to the EC program. Discussion: Results provide the first-ever, 

large-scale experimental demonstration that participation in an 

intergenerational civic engagement program can positively alter selfperceptions of generativity in older adulthood.

Y EC studies were not ultimately included in the 

annotated bibliography or systematic review 

since they are not technically SC. 

X

2016 “It Was Very 

Rewarding for Me 

...”: Senior 

Volunteers' 

Experiences With 

Implementing a 

Reminiscence and 

Creative Activity 

Intervention.

Allen, Rebecca S. 

Azuero, Casey B.

Csikai, Ellen L.

Parmelee, 

Patricia A.

Hae Jung Shin

Kvale, Elizabeth

Durkin, Daniel 

W.

Burgio, Louis D.

Purpose of the Study: To describe the experience of recruiting, training, and 

retaining retired senior volunteers (RSVs) as interventionists delivering a 

successful reminiscence and creative activity intervention to communitydwelling palliative care patients and their caregivers. Design and Methods: 

A community-based participatory research framework involved Senior 

Corps RSV programs. Recruitment meetings and feedback groups yielded 

interested volunteers, who were trained in a 4-hr session using role plays 

and real-time feedback. Qualitative descriptive analysis identified themes 

arising from: (a) recruitment/feedback groups with potential RSV 

interventionists; and (b) individual interviews with RSVs who delivered the 

intervention. Results: Themes identified within recruitment/feedback 

groups include questions about intervention process, concerns about 

patient health, positive perceptions of the intervention, and potential 

characteristics of successful interventionists. Twelve RSVs achieved 89.8% 

performance criterion in treatment delivery. Six volunteers worked with at 

least one family and 100% chose to work with additional families. Salient 

themes identified from exit interviews included positive and negative 

aspects of the experience, process recommendations, reactions to the 

Interventionist Manual, feelings arising during work with patient/caregiver 

participants, and personal reflections. Volunteers reported a strong desire 

to recommend the intervention to others as a meaningful volunteer 

opportunity. Implications: RSVs reported having a positive impact on 

palliative care dyads and experiencing personal benefit via increased 

meaning in life. Two issues require further research attention: (a) further 

translation of this cost-effective mode of treatment delivery for palliative 

dyads and (b) further characterization of successful RSVs and the long-term 

impact on their own physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning.

Y X
2016 2013-2014 Senior 

Corps Study: Foster 

Grandparents and 

Senior Companions

Erwin J. Tan, MD 

Annie Georges, 

PhD Susan M. 

Gabbard, PhD 

Donald J. Pratt, 

PhD Anthony 

Nerino, MA 

Angela S. 

Roberts, MSW 

Stephanie M. 

Wrightsman, 

MPH Mary 

Hyde, PhD

https://academic.o

up.com/ppar/article

/26/3/88/2460933 

No abstract available. The Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion 

Programs engage low-income adults age 55 and older in high intensity 

volunteer service. The 2013–2014 Senior Corps Study (Senior Corps Study) 

provides, for the first time ever, a census of Foster Grandparents and 

Senior Companions. First, the paper examines the income, race, and ethnic 

composition of Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions to test 

whether both FGP and SCP have successfully recruited and retained a 

diverse group of low-income volunteers. Second, the paper compares the 

demographic and socioeconomic characteristics between volunteers in FGP 

and SCP. Third, the instrument used in the Senior Corps Study replicated 

survey questions from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) making it 

possible to compare the self-reported health, functional status, and life 

satisfaction of Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions to similar adult 

volunteers and nonvolunteers in the general population. A representative 

sample of 8,000 Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions was drawn 

from 30,860 respondents, and compared to a matched sample of 

volunteers and non-volunteers from the Health and Retirement Study 

(HRS). The paper used descriptive and propensity score matching analyses 

to answer the research questions. The comparative analysis (using PSM) of 

Senior Corps and HRS respondents consisted of three outcome variables: 

self-rated health, mobility-associated disability, and life satisfaction. 

Y KEEP. According to the Bibliography this is in 

the files from CNCS but we couldn't find it 

there so we downloaded the pdf from Google 

Scholar

X X

2017 The Senior 

Companion Program 

Plus: A culturally 

tailored 

psychoeducational 

training program 

(innovative 

practice).

Fields NL, Xu L. 

Richardson VE. 

Parekkh R. Ivey 

D. Feinhals G. 

Calhoun M. 

A purposive sample of African American Senior Companions ( N = 23) 

participated in a 5-day, 20-hour psychoeducational training designed to 

address the unique cultural needs of African American dementia caregivers. 

Previous studies have not utilized lay caregiver volunteers such as Senior 

Companions in dementia research in the United States. Pre- and post-tests 

were administered to determine whether African American Senior 

Companions increased their knowledge of Alzheimer's disease after 

participating in the Senior Companion Program Plus. Results from both the 

quantitative and qualitative data suggest that participants improved their 

understanding of Alzheimer's disease. Findings from the Senior Companion 

Program Plus pilot warrant further study for its potential as cost effective, 

culturally tailored training for Senior Companions who serve persons with 

dementia and their family caregivers

Y Pre-post training survey X
2017 Does the Senior 

Companion Respite 

Service Matter for 

the Health and Wellbeing of Caregivers?

Georges, A., 

Fung, W., Liang, 

J., Smith, J., 

Pratt, D., Sum, 

C., Birmingham, 

C., & Gabbard, S.

The final analysis sample consisted of 56 caregivers who completed both 

the baseline and follow-up surveys. The report used descriptive analysis to 

examine the type of services caregivers received, the number of hours the 

Senior Companion provided respite support, the alignment between 

expectations of respite services and the services received, and satisfaction 

with respite services. In addition, the analysis compared change in 

caregivers’ self-rated health and well-being, and also compared Senior 

Corps caregivers to caregivers in the general population to help ascertain 

how change in health and well-being after receiving a year of respite 

support compared to other group of adult caregivers in the general 

population.

Y Look at article - may have a comparison 

group. (HRS data was the comparison.)

X

2017 Senior Corps Focus 

Groups Thematic 

Analysis Report

Guardians of 

Honor, LLC 

The focus groups engaged 57 staff members from Foster Grandparent 

Program (FGP) projects, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) 

projects, and Senior Companion Program (SCP) projects... The purpose of 

the Senior Corps Focus Groups was to gather feedback and inform planning 

on specific topics of interest as Senior Corps moves into the next 

administration. CNCS plans to use information and opinions of focus group 

participants to develop recommendations and strategies to address issues 

discussed... Each focus group participated in a total of five sessions, one 

session dedicated to each of the following topics: (1) Performance 

measurement: what may increase projects’ abilities to reach outcomes? (2) 

Recruitment: what barriers keep projects from recruiting diverse 

participants? (3) Innovation: what may increase innovative project design? 

(4) Incentives: what strategies may help FGP/SCP sponsoring orgs 

contribute up to $0.35 to reach $3.00 in stipends in absence of federal 

appropriation increase? Or, what strategies may help RSVP sponsoring 

organizations increase contributions to cost reimbursements? (5) 

Expanding Partnerships: what strategies may promote increased 

interconnection with natural or innovative partners?

Y Not sure this counts as an evaluation X X X
2018 Exploration of 

Perceived 

Psychosocial 

Benefits of Senior 

Companion Program 

Participation Among 

Urban-Dwelling, 

Low-Income Older 

Adult Women 

Volunteers.

Hood S., Lu YY., 

Jenkins K., 

Brown ER., 

Beaven J., 

Brown SA., 

Hendrie HC., 

Austrom MG.

Background: As the older adult population increases, it is imperative to 

increase older adults' opportunities for social involvement, thus 

maintaining their important roles and contributions to society. While there 

are known health-related benefits of volunteerism among older adults, a 

dearth of information exists on the perceived benefits of volunteerism 

among low-income and ethnic minority older adults.

Purpose: To understand the perceived psychosocial benefits of 

volunteering in the Senior Companion Program and to present findings of 

focus groups conducted with urban-dwelling, low-income older adult 

women volunteers.

Design and Methods: Inductive content analysis and the Dedoose 

qualitative data analysis software were used for analyzing data obtained 

from 59 older adult women Senior Companions who participated in nine 

focus groups.

Results: Content analyses of the focus group transcripts identified four 

major themes: (1) Reducing social isolation; (2) Improving quality of life; (3) 

Finding purpose and meaning; and (4) Increasing understanding of aging. 

The majority of our participants (81%) were African American women, with 

a mean age of 70 years. Approximately 83.1% had completed high school 

and 62.7% lived below the poverty line.

Discussion and Implications: Findings provided data rich in descriptions of 

positive psychosocial outcomes, finding meaning and purpose, and a better 

understanding of aging in urban-dwelling, low-income older women 

volunteers. The findings also provide support for the need for policies and 

programs that promote civic engagement in this population.

Y X

2018 Comparative 

Analysis and Case 

Studies of RSVP and 

SCP Grantees 

Implementing 

Evidence-Based 

Programs

Task 10

ICF In 2017, CNCS engaged ICF to write case studies about five Senior Corps 

grantees (4 RSVP and 1 SCP) that received augmentation grant funding in 

2016 to implement evidence-based programs (a set of activities and 

practices supported by a theory of change, tested through rigorous impact 

evaluation). The study looks at what motivated the projects, how they 

identified the EBP program, interaction with owners of EBPs, staffing, 

implementation with fidelity, how grantees use the funds, challenges, and 

whether they plan to continue after funding. 

Y No abstract included. X X

2018 Comparative 

Analysis and Case 

Studies of RSVP 

Grantees 

Implementing 

Signature Programs 

Task 3

ICF In 2017, CNCS engaged ICF to write case studies about RSVP grantees 

implementing signature programs. This study looks at five signature RSVP 

programs ( ...in the “signature” model, the sponsor directly administers the 

program where RSVP members serve. When a sponsor implements a 

signature program, it takes on responsibilities usually left to volunteer 

stations, such as training RSVP volunteers, recruiting beneficiaries, and 

maintaining space for the intervention...). The purpose was to help CNCS 

understand why sponsors develop these programs, how they are 

implemented, to what extent they partner with stations, how they perceive 

differences between these and other programs, how they perceive effects, 

and common characteristics. 

Y No abstract included. X
2018 Longitudinal Study 

of Foster 

Grandparent and 

Senior Companion 

Programs: Service 

Delivery 

Implications and 

Health Benefits to 

the Volunteers

Georges, A., 

Fung, W., Smith, 

J., Liang, J., Sum, 

C., & Gabbard, S.

CNCS conducted a longitudinal evaluation of two of the Senior Corps 

programs, Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and Senior Companion 

Program (SCP), to build the evidence base of these programs’ effectiveness. 

The evaluation was designed to assess how to strengthen and expand 

national service programs to support overall adult health and well-being. 

The study, launched in 2014, collected data from more than 1,200 first-time 

Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion volunteers on their social, 

demographic, and economic backgrounds; their interest in and motivation 

for volunteering; their experience with the program’s training and support; 

and health and well-being outcomes. The final report used data from three 

time points of data collection (baseline and two follow-ups) to achieve 

three objectives:

(1) Describe the demographic profile, knowledge of national service, and 

motivation for volunteering among first-time FGP and SCP volunteers. (2) 

Assess retention, satisfaction, and engagement with FGP and SCP. (3) 

Examine how participation in national service contributed to changes in selfrated health and well-being.

Y

XX

2019 Juggling Multiple 

Roles: An 

examination of role 

conflict and its 

relationship to older 

adult volunteer 

satisfaction and 

retention

Crittenden, 

Jennifer A. 

(Dissertation)

Volunteering among older adults has been associated with numerous 

benefits for older adults and their communities. As the U.S. population 

continues to age, new and continued opportunities for engagement emerge 

not just within the formal volunteering arena but also within paid 

employment, caregiving, and informal volunteering. Grounded in role 

theory, this study examined the extent to which current volunteers 

experience role conflict and role enhancement between their volunteer 

role and other social roles that they occupy. Specifically, this study 

examined the following research questions: 1) Does role conflict predict 

satisfaction with, participation in, and/or intention to remain in the 

volunteer role? and 2) What are the compensatory strategies used by older 

adults to navigate role conflict and what benefits do older adults accrue in 

their volunteer roles that could effectively counterbalance role conflict? A 

mixed methods survey was distributed to 6,796 older adult Retired and 

Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) volunteers nationally via mail and e-mail, 

with a total of 1,697 responding.

Results support both role strain and role enhancement perspectives. Role 

conflict, measured with a modified Work Family Conflict Scale (WAFCS), 

was found to be a predictor of volunteer satisfaction and associated with 

role load (# of roles held) and total role hours. While conflict was correlated 

with intent to remain in the volunteer role, it was not found to be a 

significant predictor of this outcome. Qualitative themes documented 

support for the benefits of volunteering both to volunteers personally as 

well as benefits that directly benefited paid employment, caregiving, and 

informal volunteer roles. Role-related benefits identified included new 

skills and knowledge, new networks/connections, new social role 

opportunities, and respite. Indirect personal benefits of volunteering 

 

Y

X
Year 

study 

published

/ written

Report/Chapter Title Study Authors Link Abstract/Summary

Notes Included in 12 final? 

1999 Type of Volunteer 

Experience and Health 

Among Older Volunteers

Jirovec, R.L., & 

Hyduk, C.A.

The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain if the type of volunteer experience was related to the physical health or psychological 

well-being of older adult volunteers. A central pattern emerged from the data: the type of, as well as the number of, hours donated to a 

volunteer activity were associated with psychological well-being. Implications for social workers involved with volunteer programs and 

services are discussed in terms of volunteer recruitment and retention, and the need to develop more significant volunteer roles, 

especially for low-income older adults.

N

2002 Intergenerational 

connections enhance the 

personal/social 

development of young 

children

Rosebrook, V. Intergenerational programs unite people of different age groups in on-going, beneficial experiences that foster the development of 

relationships, while enhancing the quality of life for those involved. In this nation, intergenerational programs have existed since the 

1960’s, but have recently emerged as an answer to a plethora of social problems. While a review of the shifting demographic data 

foretells of the impending societal care crisis for young children and senior adults, the amount and variety of intergenerational research 

has been limited. This cause and effect research study examined the personal/social development of preschool children. Comparative 

group analysis revealed that children in intergenerational group care settings have significantly higher personal/social developmental 

scores than children in non-intergenerational settings.

N

2002 The New Face of 

Retirement

Peter Hart Research 

Associates (for Civic 

Ventures)

From July 22 to 31, 2002, Peter D. Hart Research Associates conducted a national survey for Civic Ventures among 600 Americans age 50 

to 75, including 300 regular volunteers and 300 non-volunteers. Volunteers were weighted to their proper proportion (25%) within the 

sample to calculate older American totals. For the purpose of this research, older American volunteers are defined as individuals who 

commit at least five hours each week to an organized community activity. The margin of error is ±4% for the overall sample of older 

adults and higher for specific subgroups. In addition, Hart Research conducted a focus group among opinion leaders in the Washington, 

D.C., area in July 2002, on the role of volunteerism in retirement.

N

2004 Reinventing Aging: Baby 

Boomers and Civic 

Engagement

Harvard School of 

Public 

Health–MetLife 

Foundation

Initiative on 

Retirement and Civic 

Engagement

The main message of this Report is that there is an opportunity to help boomers create a social legacy of profound importance. Their 

added years of life give them the chance, their experiences in life give them the capability, and the need to come to terms with the 

world in a way that brings integrity to their life gives them the psychological incentive. Much may depend on the actions of the first 

wave of boomers, many of whom, while inspired in their formative years by President Kennedy’s call-to-service, have been notably less 

involved in civic life than their parents. This first wave may serve as role models for younger boomers, and for future generations as 

well. All of society will have a stake in the outcome.

Key results contextualize recommendations.

N

2006 Volunteering in Middle 

and Later Life: Is Health a 

Benefit, Barrier, or Both?

Yunqing Li and 

Kenneth F. Ferraro

The positive association between volunteering and health has been widely interpreted as evidence of the salutary effect of volunteering 

during adulthood. Using three waves of data from a national survey, this study uses structural equation models to examine the 

relationships among volunteering, functional limitations, and depressive symptoms during middle and later adulthood. The findings 

reveal a salutary effect of volunteering in later life as well as a compensatory mechanism. By contrast, only a barrier mechanism was 

uncovered in middle age: Depressive symptoms decreased volunteer participation over time. The results demonstrate life course 

variation in the relationship between volunteering and health and suggest greater attention to selection processes in the study of social 

engagement and health.

N

2006 Baby Boomer 

Volunteering Research 

and Analysis Report

RTI - Jordan, B.K., 

Weitzenhamp, D., 

Gazley, B., IriondoPerez, J., Meier, H., 

Reingold, D., Green, 

A., Rabiner, D., and 

Jones, S.

This report is an undertaking of the Corporation for National and Community Service to increase understanding of how to capture the 

experience and energy of Baby Boomers and engage them to help solve critical social issues through community service. This report 

extends knowledge about Baby Boomers and volunteering, including the characteristics of volunteers, the types of organizations for 

which they volunteer, the types of activities they were most likely to engage in, how they came to volunteer, and why they stopped 

volunteering. It describes literature on what is known about Baby Boomer's volunteering and contains findings from new analyses 

conducted by RTI using the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the 2004 CPS Volunteer Supplement in particular. The report also 

compares data on boomers ages 45-54 in 2004 to data on Americans who were 45-54 in 1989 using CPS volunteer data from that time.

N
2006 Great Expectations: 

Boomers and the Future 

of Volunteering

MetLife Foundation Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., conducted a five-part study on behalf of Volunteer Match from April to August, 2006. 

Literature and Data Review: Quantitative and qualitative assessments of two recent national surveys, both produced in partnership with 

The Corporation for National & Community Service: 1) The Volunteer Supplement to the 2003 Current Population Survey (CPS), 

conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which examines volunteer behavior as well as reasons why people decide not to volunteer; 

and 2) The 2004 Urban Institute’s Volunteer Management Capacity in America's Charities and Congregations: A Briefing Report, a 

survey of more than 3,000 nonprofits on issues such as how they used volunteers, their volunteer management infrastructure, and their 

recruitment challenges.

Survey of Older Non-Volunteers: Telephone survey among 507 55- to 75-year-olds who are not currently volunteering. Approximately 

two hundred and fifty interviews each were conducted among 55- to 65-year-old and 66- to 75-year-old non-volunteers. These two 

samples were then weighted to their proper proportions within the older adult population. Interviews were conducted June 12 to 16, 

2006. The overall margin of error is ±4.4 percentage points and is larger among subgroups.

Survey of Volunteer Match Volunteer Users: On-line survey among 2,316 volunteers who are registered with Volunteer Match, 

conducted June 12 to July 6, 2006. The overall margin of error is ±2.0 percentage points and is larger among subgroups. Sampled from a 

registered volunteer user base of 621,025 as of June 2006.

Survey Staff Of Volunteer Match Nonprofit Users: On-line survey among 1,024 staff of nonprofit organizations that use Volunteer 

Match, conducted June 9 to 27, 2006. The overall margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points and is larger among subgroups. Sampled 

from a registered nonprofit user base of 41,016 as of June 2006.

In-Depth User Interviews: Twenty in-depth telephone interviews with volunteer coordinators at nonprofits that use Volunteer Match. 

Ten interviews were conducted among coordinators at nonprofits using volunteers age 55 and over and 10 interviews were conducted 

among coordinators at nonprofits that do not use volunteers in that age group. The interviews were conducted from August 7 to 16, 

2006.

N

2008 Volunteerism, Health, and 

Civic Engagement among 

Older Adults

Benjamin H. 

Gottlieb 

and Alayna A. 

Gillespie

https://www.cambridge.

org/core/journals/canadianjournal-on-aging-la-revuecanadienne-duvieillissement/article/volunteeri

sm-health-and-civicengagement-among-olderadults/18C146A139044C1D578

B3757530210B7

In North America, 40–50 per cent of older adults are actively involved as formal volunteers in providing diverse health and human 

services. We review empirical studies concerning older adults' motivations for volunteering, as well as the health and morale benefits 

they derive from this expression of altruism. Knowledge of the exact nature and amount of volunteer activity necessary to produce 

these effects is limited, and studies have yet to identify the behavioral and psychological mechanisms that are implicated. We propose 

that older adult volunteers may enjoy good health and longevity because being useful to others instills a sense of being needed and 

valued. We present several theoretical perspectives on the developmental significance of volunteering, discuss the challenges to 

volunteerism imposed by the baby boom cohort, and identify future research priorities.

Review

N

2009 Volunteer dynamics 

among older Americans

Barbara A. Butrica, 

Richard W. Johnson, 

and Sheila R. 

Zedlewski,

Objectives: The impending retirement of boomers has spurred interest in tapping their productive energies to benefit society. This 

study examined volunteer transitions among older adults to understand the factors that affect volunteer dynamics. Methods: Using 

data from the Health and Retirement Study, the analysis examined entries into and exits from formal volunteer activities between 1996 

and 2004 by adults aged 55 – 65 at study baseline. The study showed the duration of volunteer activities, the probability that older 

adults start and stop volunteering, and the factors that significantly predict volunteer transitions. Results: The findings reveal 

considerable stability among both volunteers and nonvolunteers; however, older adults are more likely to stop volunteering than to 

start. Volunteers who contribute intensely and for many years and who are married to volunteers are the least likely to quit. And 

nonvolunteers are more likely to start volunteering if they have been uninvolved for few years and their spouses 

volunteer. Conclusions: The results point to the need to focus efforts on retaining older volunteers to maximize volunteer engagement 

during later years. Recruiting older adults in volunteer activities early on, ideally before they retire, could also help meet volunteer 

needs.

N
2009 Institutional Facilitation in 

Sustained Volunteering 

among Older Adult 

Volunteers

Tang, F., MorrowHowell, N., & Hong, 

S.

 As more nonprofit organizations rely on older adult volunteers to provide services, it is important to retain volunteers for an extended 

period of time to ensure service quality and the beneficial outcomes of volunteering. Nonprofit organizations are positioned to facilitate 

older adult volunteers' role performance. Based on an institutional perspective on volunteering, this study explored what institutional 

facilitations are needed for sustained volunteering. The sample included 401 older adult volunteers from 13 programs across the nation. 

Data were collected by means of self-administrated questionnaires. Institutional facilitation was captured by volunteer role flexibility, 

incentive, role recognition, and training. With volunteers' age controlled for, two-level hierarchical linear models were used to assess 

the relationship between volunteer duration (level 1 variables) and institutional facilitation (level 2 variables) in the volunteer program. 

Results demonstrated that a higher level of volunteering duration was associated with institutional facilitation factors of more role 

recognition and more training hours. Duration was also associated with less incentive. These findings suggest that certain facilitators 

from organizations contribute to an extended period of commitment among older adult volunteers.

N

2009 Volunteering and it's 

Relationship with 

Personal and 

Neighborhood Well-Being

Mellor, D., Hayashi, 

Y., Stokes, M., Firth, 

L., Lake, L., Staples, 

M., Chambers, S., and 

Cummins, R.

https://journals.

sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0899

764008317971

Although a relationship between volunteering and well-being has been demonstrated in numerous studies, well-being has generally 

been poorly operationalized and often defined by the relative absence of pathology. In this study, the authors take a positive approach 

to defining well-being and investigate the relationship between volunteering and personal and neighborhood well-being. The 

theoretical approach incorporates elements of the homeostatic model of well-being. A sample of 1,289 adults across Australia 

completed a questionnaire that assessed personal and neighborhood wellbeing, personality factors, and the psychosocial resources 

implicated in the homeostatic model of well-being. Analyses reveal that volunteers had higher personal and neighborhood well-being 

than nonvolunteers and that volunteering contributed additional variance in well-being even after psychosocial and personality factors 

were accounted for. The findings are discussed in terms of previous research and the homeostatic model of well-being, and it is argued 

that the relationship between volunteering and well-being is robust.

N

2009 Engaging Older Adults in 

Volunteering

Song-Iee Hong, 

Nancy MorrowHowell,

Fengyan Tang, James 

Hinterlong

Concern exists that organizations are not ready to take advantage of the growing number of older volunteers. This study offers a 

conceptualization and preliminary measurement strategy to enhance knowledge on the institutional capacity of volunteer programs to 

engage older adults. Data were collected from 51 program directors to assess 10 dimensions of institutional capacity: specification of 

role, dissemination of information, role availability, compensation of expenses, in-kind incentive, skill development, role flexibility, role 

recognition, accommodation, and integration. Eight factors were identified. The subscales were moderately reliable, and dimensions 

were independent. Programs rated highest on the capacity to recognize volunteers and disseminate information and lowest on their 

ability to provide cash compensation. Subsequent research on institutional capacity depends on its strong measurement. Future works 

will assess the extent to which these institutional capacity factors affect the recruitment, retention, and effective utilization of older 

volunteers.

Contextualizes recommendations.

N

2010 Volunteering, Driving 

Status and Mortality in US 

Retirees

Sei J. Lee, MD, 

Michael A. Steinman, 

MD, and Erwin J. Tan, 

MD

OBJECTIVES: Volunteering is associated with lower mortality in the elderly. Driving is associated with health and well-being and driving 

cessation has been associated with decreased out-of-home activity levels including volunteering. We evaluated how accounting for 

driving status altered the relationship between volunteering and mortality in US retirees. DESIGN: Observational prospective cohort 

SETTING and PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative sample of retirees over age 65 from the Health and Retirement Study in 2000 

and 2002, followed to 2006 (n=6408). MEASUREMENTS: Participants self-reported their volunteering, driving status, age, gender and 

race/ethnicity, presence of chronic conditions, geriatrics syndromes, socioeconomic factors, functional limitations and psychosocial 

factors. Death by December 31, 2006 was the outcome. RESULTS: For drivers, the mortality rates between volunteers (9%) and nonvolunteers (12%) were similar; for limited or non-drivers, the mortality rate for volunteers (15%) was markedly lower compared to nonvolunteers (32%). Our adjusted results showed that for drivers, the volunteering-mortality Odds Ratio (OR) was 0.90 (95%CI: 0.66–1.22), 

whereas for limited or non-drivers, the OR was 0.62 (95%CI: 0.49–0.78), (interaction p=0.05). The impact of driving status was greater 

for rural participants, with greater differences between rural drivers versus rural limited or non-drivers (interaction p=0.02) compared 

to urban drivers versus urban limited or nondrivers (interaction p=0.81). CONCLUSION: The influence of volunteering in decreasing 

mortality seems to be stronger among rural retirees who are limited or non-drivers. This may be because rural or non-driving retirees 

are more likely to be socially isolated and thus receive more benefit from the increased social integration from volunteering

Shows that volunteering has especially 

positive impacts on those with limited 

mobility (i.e.- those in rural areas and nondrivers),

N
2011 Volunteering and 

Hypertension Risk in Later 

Life

Burr, J.A., Tavares, J, 

and Mutchler, J.E.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between volunteer activity and hypertension, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, 

renal failure, and cognitive impairment. Method: Employing data from the Health and Retirement Study, we estimated regression 

models of hypertension status that include volunteer activity and psychosocial and health behavior risk factors for middle-aged and 

older persons. Results: Multivariate analyses showed volunteers had lower hypertension risk and lower systolic and diastolic blood 

pressure than nonvolunteers and that a threshold effect was present, whereby a modest amount of volunteer time commitment (but 

not a high amount) was associated with lower risk of hypertension. We did neither find support that psychosocial and health behaviors 

mediated this relationship nor find support for a moderating effect of volunteering for the relationships among health behaviors and 

hypertension. Discussion: The results of this study indicate that research is needed to determine what mediates the relationship 

between volunteering and hypertension.

Shows that volunteering is associated with 

lower hypertension risk.

N

2012 Brief: The Health Benefits 

of Volunteering for Older 

Americans: A Review of 

Recent Research

CNCS In addition to providing valuable services to individuals and communities, older volunteers are also living active lives through 

volunteering. A growing body of research shows an association between volunteering and mental and physical health benefits. In 

particular, older volunteers report lower mortality rates, lower rates of depression, fewer physical limitations, and higher levels of wellbeing. This issue brief summarizes recent research and suggest implications of the

findings

Data brief - overview of recent research. 

N

2017 Impacts of 

Intergenerational 

Programs on Older 

Adults' Psychological WellBeing: A Meta-Analysis

Su, Y. A comprehensive evaluation of intergenerational programming (IGP) is needed to identify best practices. In this study, I conducted an 

IGP evaluation whose first purpose was to explore the effectiveness of IGPs through a meta-analysis of programs reported in the 

literature between 2000 and 2016. I first examined the effect of IGPs on older adults’ depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and life 

satisfaction separately, and then combined them into a single indicator of psychological well-being. The second aim of the study was to 

identify possible moderators that might affect the success of IGPs with older adults, including IGP characteristics such as activity type 

(social activity or personal-related activity), serving type or intended purpose (who is serving whom—older adults’ participation 

benefitting younger participants or vice versa), ratio of older to younger participants, IGP duration (i.e., program length, intervention 

time per session, number of sessions, and interval between two consecutive sessions), program support (who is facilitating the 

interaction between younger and older adults), and participant characteristics (i.e., younger and older participants’ age). Fifteen studies 

with 625 older adults were included in the study, and the Hunter and Schmidt (2004) meta-analytic approach was employed to perform 

the analyses. The results indicated that IGP participation was related to enhanced life satisfaction and self-esteem and reduced 

depressive symptoms among older adults. Pooling these effects into one construct representing psychological well-being (d = 0.37, 80% 

credibility interval = [-0.27; 1.00]), I found that IGP was indeed effective for older adults’ psychological well-being but not significant. 

Overall, the effect of IGP was positive; however, the effectiveness was variable, implying the possibility of moderating factors that 

indeed produce the effectiveness. Due to the limited number of studies, moderator analysis was not conducted; however, the 

relationships among IGP characteristics, participant characteristics, and IGP effect size were explored through scatterplots, correlations, 

analysis of variance (ANOVA), independent samples t-test, and sample-weighted regression analyses. Of note, younger participants’ age 

(r = 0.64, p<.05) was significantly related to the higher IGP effectiveness. Additionally, I tried to investigate the effect of IGP on younger 

participants; however, due to the variety of IGP outcomes I was only able to present the effect sizes of younger participants for 

individual studies. For future researchers, more investigation regarding IGP effects on younger individuals and more quantitative and 

comprehensive research utilizing

consistent reporting and coding procedures is needed to better understand the overall IGP effectiveness and identify the best practices.

Master's thesis, unpublished meta-analysis. Y
2018 Examining Approaches to 

Address Loneliness and 

Social Isolation Among 

Older Adults

MacLeod, S., Musich, 

S., Parikh, R.B., 

Hawkins, K., Keown, 

K., & Yeh, C.S.

Background: Loneliness and social isolation are important determinants of health with impacts comparable to those of other health risk 

factors. Older adults are especially at risk, when late-life transitions impact social connectedness and social networks, with subsequent 

effects on quality of life and physical and mental health. Purpose: Our primary purpose is to summarize a streamlined yet thorough 

literature review to support our discussion and perspective on the growing need for expanded intervention options targeting loneliness 

and social isolation among older adults. In doing so, we will describe existing and emerging intervention approaches, utilizing specified 

strategies, designed for this need. Methods: A specifically targeted review of literature, rather than a broad systematic review, was 

conducted to meet our purpose and tailor results to our primary areas of interest. This review was targeted and tailored as such 

because we were primarily interested in several specific categories of approaches to address loneliness and social isolation, as 

described in the results. An online search was utilized to identify publications describing existing and emerging intervention solutions, 

utilizing specified approaches and targeting older adults. Results: An initial search returned over 5,000 publications; thus, additional 

criteria were used to narrow these results and identify the most relevant publications for our purpose. The majority of interventions 

included take one of several approaches identified as an area of interest for this review: telephone-based, community 

involvement/volunteering, online/digital solutions, or resilience training. Our review and discussion focuses on these specified 

categories of existing interventions and considers emerging approaches with potential promise. The results and summary provided 

demonstrate a need for further widespread application and development of these intervention options. Conclusions: Loneliness and 

social isolation are common among older adults, impacting their overall health and quality of life. These issues have become important 

determinants of health; thus further work is warranted in order to further develop and deliver emerging intervention approaches 

holding promise for older populations.

Not specific to volunteering but makes the 

point that older adults commonly struggle 

with loneliness and social isolation and thus 

volunteering could help. 

N

1999 The Perceived Benefits of 

Participating in Volunteer 

and Educational Activities

Morrow-Howell, N., 

Kinnevy, S., & Mann, 

M.

A program evaluation of OASIS, a national non-profit organization which provides educational and volunteer opportunities to people 

over the age of 55, focused on the benefits of participating in educational and volunteer activities. A total of 289 older adults provided 

their perspectives on the extent to which participation in these activities benefited them in four domains: socialization (social 

interaction), generativity (productivity), well-being (life satisfaction), and opportunity (chance for new endeavors). The survey results 

indicate that, in general, older adults perceive that they benefit from participation in these activities. Participants perceived the most 

benefit in the domain of opportunity, followed by well-being, and then, at the same level, socialization and generativity. Volunteers 

reported more benefit overall than class takers. When asked what was most beneficial about participation, most respondents 

mentioned interacting with new people.

Outcome. Small sample, no comparison 

group, specific to a single program.

N

1997 Receptivity to 

Volunteering in the 

Immediate 

Postretirement Period

Caro, F.G. & Bass, 

S.A.

Higher rates of volunteering might be expected of elders in the period immediately after retirement because they tend to be in 

relatively good health and have fewer competing obligations. Data from the Commonwealth Productive Aging Survey, a telephone 

survey of a representative national sample of 2,999 people 55 years of age and older, confirmed findings of previous research that 

retirement is not associated with higher rates of volunteering. However, in the first and second years following termination of 

employment, nonvolunteers show a heightened receptivity to volunteering; that is, they indicate more willingness to take on volunteer 

assignments and an ability to do so than do elders who are employed or who have been out of the workforce for longer periods. The 

findings suggest that volunteer coordinators should focus volunteer recruiting efforts on elders who are about to leave jobs or who have 

recently left jobs.

Outcome

N

1989 Intergenerational 

programs - Impact on 

attitudes

Seefeldt, C.

https://www.tandfonline. 

com/doi/pdf/10.1300/J274v20n

03_19?needAccess=true

This paper reports on the impact on attitudes of younger and older participants in intergenerational programs. The elderly surveyed in 

several programs reported increased feelings of well-being and life-satisfaction as a result of their involvement with children. The 

results from children, however, are mixed with both positive and negative attitudinal outcomes attributed to their intergenerational 

experiences. The author suggests that measuring attitude change might be more conclusive if the research considered the longitudinal 

growth and development associated with attitude learning and change.

N

1984 Is Volunteering a 

Substitute for Role Loss in 

Old Age? An Empirical 

Test of Activity Theory

Maizel Chambre, S. In view of the current interest in and the policy significance of senior volunteering, it is curious that relatively little empirical research 

has been conducted in this area and no direct empirical test has been made of the central question of whether volunteering is in fact 

used as a substitute for role loss in old age. This article considers this question by examining whether individuals who lack ties to work 

and to family tend to volunteer more frequently and devote more time to volunteering than do those maintaining such involvement. 

These findings suggest that an understanding of the level of volunteer activity among the elderly cannot be explained by activity theory. 

Rather than responding to role loss, a significant number of elderly volunteers may be volunteers who became elderly; that is, their 

involvement is a continuation of behavior patterns established earlier in life. This would mean that an alternative perspective, 

continuity theory (Atchley, 1972), is appropriate for understanding this area of behavior. This study is a secondary analysis of data from 

the Americans Volunteer — 1974 survey (ACTION, 1975). Sponsored by ACTION, the data were gathered as part of the April 1974 

Current Population Survey. The total sample included 23,830 persons. The 4,339 individuals used in this study include all those aged 60 

and over who were not disabled or students.

No abstract available. Non-experimental. 

Older research - not a summary or seminal 

paper

N
1991 Toward Satisfaction and 

Retention of Senior 

Volunteers

Stevens, E.S. Older people are living longer and retiring earlier, creating a greater period of leisure time in later life. A substantial number of older 

adults who choose to volunteer discontinue their volunteer service. This turnover creates problems for volunteer organizations, 

placement sites and clients, and the senior volunteers who serve them. This study presents research findings related to volunteer 

satisfaction and retention for 151 volunteers ages 60 through 93. Personal and role characteristics associated with satisfaction and 

retention are presented and applied to the recruitment, placement, and supervision of senior volunteers. Findings indicate that 

background characteristics of the senior volunteers, as well as the social environment of the volunteer setting, are associated with role 

satisfaction and retention for older adults who choose a volunteer career.

Outcome. Too specific, not an overview.

N

2005 Benefits and Risks of 

Intergenerational 

Program Participation by 

Senior Citizens

Herrmann, D.S., 

Sipsas-Herrmann, A., 

Stafford, M., & 

Herrman, N.C.

This study investigated changes in senior citizens who participated in a school-based intergenerational program with students. Over 8 

weeks, 71 seniors taught 1 of 2 life-skills training programs. Participating seniors had significantly higher levels of positive psychosocial 

change at posttest time compared to nontrainers. Further analyses revealed sharply different outcomes based upon which life-skills 

training program the seniors taught. These results underscore the importance of not assuming positive outcomes for all seniors who 

participate in national programming. Suggestions are made regarding ways to maximize positive outcomes while avoiding unintended 

negative effects in seniors who participate in such programs.

Impact. Too specific, not an overview.

N

2016 Building a Third 

Demographic Dividend: 

Strengthening

Intergenerational WellBeing in Ways That 

Deeply Matter

Linda Fried The evidence suggests that the second demographic dividend does not capture all of the potential of this demographic shift. Sustainable 

benefits beyond this could be experienced if we designed and built roles both meaningful to older adults and of high benefit to society. 

If we also invest in health through longer lives, then people will be better able to engage in these roles that matter and we can unleash 

the opportunities and benefits of older age. By investing in these opportunities, we could build a new stage of human development, a 

“third demographic dividend”; one in which the roles and responsibilities of older adults in the last third of life bring new kinds of 

sustained social capital to solve major unmet societal needs and create increased societal well-being beyond that of the second 

demographic dividend (Fried, 2016).

Policy report. Background and 

recommendations for ways to bring new 

social capital to solve major unmet societal 

needs.

N

1989 Intergenerational 

Programming for an 

Increasingly AgeSegregated Society

Haber, E.A., & ShortDeGraff, M.A.The process of aging is increasingly becoming a topic of interest among people of all ages. As life expectancy and technology increase, 

along with opportunities for early retirement, people are becoming concerned about the physical and mental changes that accompany 

aging and the services and programs addressing these needs. Based on activity theory, intergenerational programs serve to bridge the 

gap between the young and the old by incorporating activities specifically designed to encourage interactions between the two age 

groups. Although research in this area is not abundant, evidence indicates the benefits of intergenerational programs seem to outweigh 

any disadvantages, suggesting that intergenerational programming is becoming a trend in our society. This paper provides a general 

overview of the nature, characteristics of, and resources regarding intergenerational programs.

Review of intergenerational programs.

Y

1998 The Beneficial Effects of 

Volunteering for Older 

Volunteers and the 

People they Serve: A 

Meta-Analysis

Wheeler, J.A., Gorey, 

K.M., & Greenblatt, 

B.

The current political-economic climate, which is generally supportive of both private and public sector down-sizing, increasingly 

demands that human service workers assess, engage, and creatively use consumer strengths and resources. This meta-analysis of thirtyseven independent studies provided the means of inferring not only that elder volunteers' sense of well-being seemed to be 

significantly bolstered through volunteering, but also that such relatively healthy older people represent a significant adjunct resource 

for meeting some of the service needs of more vulnerable elders, as well as those of other similarly vulnerable groups such as disabled 

children. Averaging across studies, 85 percent of the "clients" who received service from an older volunteer (e.g., peer-counseling of 

nursing home residents) scored better on dependent measures (E.g., diminished depression) than the average person in comparison 

conditions did (U3 = .847 [Cohen, 1988], combine p < .001). The policy implications of such beneficial effects among both older 

volunteers and the people they serve are discussed.

Meta-analysis on benefits of volunteering in 

older adults.

Y
1999 Population-Based Study 

of Social and Productive 

Activities as Predictors of 

Survival among Elderly 

Americans.

Glass, Thomas, Carlos 

Mendes de Leon, 

Richard A. Marottoli,

and Lisa F. Berkman. 

OBJECTIVES: To examine any association between social, productive, and physical activity and 13 year survival in older people. DESIGN: 

Prospective cohort study with annual mortality follow up. Activity and other measures were assessed by structured interviews at 

baseline in the participants' homes. Proportional hazards models were used to model survival from time of initial interview. SETTING: 

City of New Haven, Connecticut, United States. PARTICIPANTS: 2761 men and women from a random population sample of 2812 people 

aged 65 and older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mortality from all causes during 13 years of follow up. RESULTS: All three types of 

activity were independently associated with survival after age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, income, body mass index, smoking, 

functional disability, and history of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and myocardial infarction were controlled for. CONCLUSIONS: Social and 

productive activities that involve little or no enhancement of fitness lower the risk of all cause mortality as much as fitness activities do. 

This suggests that in addition to increased cardiopulmonary fitness, activity may confer survival benefits through psychosocial 

pathways. Social and productive activities that require less physical exertion may complement exercise programs and may constitute 

alternative interventions for frail elderly people.

Large cohort study - volunteering impacts on 

mortality.

N

2002 Individual consequences 

of volunteer and paid 

work in old age: health 

and mortality

Luoh, M.C. and 

Herzog, A.R.

The impacts of the productive social activities of volunteer and paid work on health have rarely been investigated among the oldest 

Americans despite a recent claim for their beneficial effect (Rowe and Kahn 1998). This paper used data from Waves 3 and 4 of the 

Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) Study to (1) investigate the impact of these activities on health measured as 

self-reported health and activities of daily living (ADL) functioning limitations and to (2) explore possible causal mechanisms. Using 

multinomial logistic regression analysis, amounts of volunteer and paid work over a minimum of 100 annual hours self-reported at 

Wave 3 were related to poor health and death as competing risks measured at Wave 4, controlling for health measured at Wave 2 and 

for other predictors of poor health and death. Findings suggest that performing more than 100 annual hours of volunteer work and of 

paid work have independent and significant protective effects against subsequent poor health and death. Additional analyses suggest 

that the quantity of volunteer and paid work beyond 100 annual hours is not related to health outcomes and that physical exercise and 

mental health measured as cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms explain not entirely overlapping parts of the relationship 

between productive activities and health.

Shows positive impacts of volunteering in a 

national sample.

N

2003 Effects of Volunteering on 

the Well-Being of Older 

Adults

Morrow-Howell, 

Nancy, Jim 

Hinterlong, Philip A. 

Rozario,

and Fengyan Tang

Objectives. This study tests the effects of volunteering on the well-being of older adults, including the effect of level of engagement, the 

moderating effects of demographic and social factors, and the effects of the nature of the volunteer experience. Methods. This is a 

secondary data analysis of three waves of data from the Americans' Changing Lives Study. Self-rated health, functional dependency, and 

depression are regressed on the well-being measures from the previous waves, other control variables and volunteer status, volunteer 

hours, type and number of volunteer organizations, and the perceived benefit to others of the volunteer work. Results. Older adults 

who volunteer and who engage in more hours of volunteering report higher levels of well-being. This positive effect was not moderated 

by social integration, race, or gender. There was no effect of the number of organizations for which the older adult volunteered, the 

type of organization, or the perceived benefit of the work to others. Discussion. This work contributes to a knowledge base that points 

to the development of social programs and policies that maximize the engagement of older adults in volunteer roles. The findings 

suggest that targeting efforts may not be warranted, in that there are not differential benefits according to personal characteristics of 

the volunteer. Future studies have to address the nature of the social institutions that will maximize the number of elders in these roles 

and the benefits that they accrue.

Referenced in CNCS health benefits fact sheet 

(secondary data analysis).

N

2003 Volunteering and Health 

Among Older People: A 

Review

Onyx, J., & 

Warburton, J.

This paper presents a review of the available literature on the relationship between volunteering and health among older people. There 

is consistent evidence that morbidity rates, functional health indices, self reported health and life satisfaction are affected by formal 

and informal volunteering. Some studies suggest that the benefits of volunteering are reciprocal, in that both those who give and those 

who receive assistance benefit. The evidence is consistent with the proposal that social capital is generated through volunteering. It is 

likely that the presence of high levels of social capital supports and maintains the health of older persons, provides informal support in 

times of sickness and stress and thus enhances quality of life as well as reducing or delaying the onset of illness and death.

Review on impacts of volunteering in older 

adults.

Y

2005 “The Effects of 

Volunteering on the 

Physical and Mental 

Health of Older People.

Lum, Terry Y., and 

Elizabeth Lightfoot

The purpose of this study is to build on the growing body of literature examining the correlations between volunteering and health 

among older persons. Longitudinal data from the 1993 and 2000 panels of the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Study 

(AHEAD) were used to measure health and mental health outcomes of people over age 70 who volunteered at least 100 hours in 1993. 

The findings provide empirical support to earlier claims that volunteering slows the decline in self-reported health and functioning 

levels, slows the increase in depression levels, and improves mortality rates for those who volunteer. However, volunteering had no 

effect on the number of physician-diagnosed health conditions or nursing home residence rates. The findings provide support for the 

concept of role enhancement.

Longitudinal data from a national sample.

N
2005 Volunteering is associated 

with delayed mortality in 

older people: analysis of 

the longitudinal study of 

aging.

Harris AH, Thoresen 

CE.

The Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA) assessed the health and social functioning of a representative sample of 7,527 American 

community-dwelling older people (>70 years). We tested the hypothesis that frequent volunteering is associated with less mortality risk 

when the effects of socio-demographics, medical status, physical activity and social integration are controlled. We used Cox 

proportional hazards analyses to assess the unadjusted and adjusted associations between frequency of volunteering and time-to-death 

(96-month follow-up). Death occurred in 38.3 percent of the sample. After adjusting for covariates, frequent volunteers had significantly 

reduced mortality compared to non-volunteers. This association was greatest for those who frequently visited with friends or attended 

religious services.

Nationally representative sample showing 

association of frequent volunteering with 

delayed mortality.

N

2007 Health Benefits of 

Volunteering: A Review of 

Recent Research

CNCS: Grimm, R.; 

Spring, K, and Dietz, 

N.

Over the past two decades we have seen a growing body of research that indicates volunteering provides individual health benefits in 

addition to social benefits. This research has established a strong relationship between volunteering and health: those who volunteer 

have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer. 

Comparisons of the health benefits of volunteering for different age groups have also shown that older volunteers are the most likely to 

receive greater benefits from volunteering, whether because they are more likely to face higher incidence of illness or because 

volunteering provides them with physical and social activity and a sense of purpose at a time when their social roles are changing. Some 

of these findings also indicate that volunteers who devote a “considerable” amount of time to volunteer activities (about 100 hours per 

year) are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes.

Review

Y

2010 Volunteering in Later Life: 

Research Frontiers

Murrow-Howell, 

Nancy 

Objectives. This review summarizes the current knowledge about volunteering in later life and suggests 5 research questions at the 

forefront of knowledge development. Results. Rates of volunteering do not decline significantly until the middle of the 7th decade, and 

older volunteers commit more hours than younger volunteers. Older adults with more human and social capital tend to volunteer, and 

there is good evidence of a reciprocal relationship between volunteering and well-being. Program and policy developments in the field 

are outstripping production of knowledge to support evidence-based practices. Discussion. Research on the dynamics of volunteering 

over the life course as well as the patterns of activities that co-occur with volunteering is needed to guide program development. 

Research methods and findings from transdisciplinary work on the mechanisms through which psychosocial conditions affect health 

must be extended to the study of the effects of volunteering on older adults. Finally, we need to engage in more applied social science 

aimed at improving volunteer management, especially recruitment and retention of older volunteers.

Systematic review of research on volunteering 

in older adults.

Y

2011 Benefits of formal 

voluntary work among 

older people. A review.

Mikaela B. von 

Bonsdorff, Taina 

Rantanen

A narrative review of quantitative population-based longitudinal studies was conducted to examine the association of formal voluntary 

work and personal well-being among older people doing the voluntary work and those being served. To be included the study had to be 

published in a peer-reviewed journal, written in English and conducted in the Western countries, participants had to be at least 60 years 

of age, the study employed a longitudinal or experimental design, the methodology and outcomes explicitly described and voluntary 

work quantified as visits or hours within a certain timeframe. Sixteen studies out of 2897 met the inclusion criteria for the review 

reporting on benefits of volunteering for those doing the voluntary work. Outcomes were collapsed into three categories of personal 

well-being: physical health, mental health, and psychosocial resources. All included studies came from the United States and showed 

that volunteering in old age predicted better self-rated health, functioning, physical activity and life satisfaction as well as decreased 

depression and mortality. However, volunteering did not decrease the risk of chronic diseases or nursing home admission in old age. 

Only one study that met the inclusion criteria on the benefits of volunteering for the older recipients was identified. Studies 

predominantly utilized data from large datasets with only limited information about volunteering which limits more detailed analyses. 

Randomized controlled trials are needed for studying the effect of voluntary work for those being served as well as to unmask the 

health participant –effect among the volunteers.

Review

Y

2011 Volunteering and Health 

for Aging Populations

Population Reference 

Bureau

https://www.prb.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/08/Toda

ysResearchAging21.pdf

A growing body of research suggests that older adults who are engaged in social and community activities maintain mental and physical 

health longer than other older adults (Musick and Wilson 2008). Volunteer activities are one way of remaining socially active after 

retirement (Luoh and Herzog 2002). Beyond potential health benefits for the volunteers, nonprofit organizations, governments, and 

community groups see boosting volunteering among the increasing older population as furthering several complementary goals, 

including: (1) Providing services to those in need in a time of diminishing government resources. (2) Helping run nonprofit organizations 

including churches, community groups, and political parties, and nurturing a new generation of leaders. (3) Strengthening civil society 

by engaging more people in the community (Morrow-Howell 2010). Many local and national government officials believe that increased 

volunteerism among older people would be a “win win” situation, with multiple beneficiaries. 

Review paper in a special report of the 

Population Reference Bureau.

Y
2013 Is Volunteering a Public 

Health Intervention? A 

Systematic Review and 

Meta-Analysis of the 

Health and Survival of 

Volunteers

Jenkinson, C.E., 

Dickens, A.P., Jones, 

K., Thompson-Coon, 

J., Taylor, R.S., 

Rogers, M., Bambra, 

C.L., Lang, I., & 

Richards, S.H.

Background: Volunteering has been advocated by the United Nations, and American and European governments as a way to engage 

people in their local communities and improve social capital, with the potential for public health benefits such as improving wellbeing 

and decreasing health inequalities. Furthermore, the US Corporation for National and Community Service Strategic Plan for 2011–2015 

focused on increasing the impact of national service on community needs, supporting volunteers’ well-being, and prioritizing 

recruitment and engagement of underrepresented populations. The aims of this review were to examine the effect of formal 

volunteering on volunteers’ physical and mental health and survival, and to explore the influence of volunteering type and intensity on 

health outcomes. Methods: Experimental and cohort studies comparing the physical and mental health outcomes and mortality of a 

volunteering group to a non-volunteering group were identified from twelve electronic databases (Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, 

PsychINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, HMIC, SSCI, ASSIA, Social Care Online, Social Policy and Practice) and citation tracking in January 2013. No 

language, country or date restrictions were applied. Data synthesis was based on vote counting and random effects meta-analysis of 

mortality risk ratios. Results: Forty papers were selected: five randomized controlled trials (RCTs, seven papers); four non-RCTs; and 17 

cohort studies (29 papers). Cohort studies showed volunteering had favorable effects on depression, life satisfaction, wellbeing but not 

on physical health. These findings were not confirmed by experimental studies. Meta-analysis of five cohort studies found volunteers to 

be at lower risk of mortality (risk ratio: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.90). There was insufficient evidence to demonstrate a consistent influence 

of volunteering type or intensity on outcomes. Conclusion: Observational evidence suggested that volunteering may benefit mental 

health and survival although the causal mechanisms remain unclear. Consequently, there was limited robustly designed research to 

guide the development of volunteering as a public health promotion intervention. Future studies should explicitly map intervention 

design to clear health outcomes as well as use pragmatic RCT methodology to test effects.

Meta-analysis looks at volunteering link to 

lower risk of mortality and benefits for mental 

health. 

Y

2013 Volunteering by Older 

Adults and Risk of 

Mortality: A MetaAnalysis

Okun, M.A., Yeung, 

E.W.H., & Brown, S.

Organizational volunteering has been touted as an effective strategy for older adults to help themselves while helping others. Extending 

previous reviews, we carried out a meta-analysis of the relation between organizational volunteering by late-middle-aged and older 

adults (minimum age 55 years old) and risk of mortality. We focused on unadjusted effect sizes (i.e., bivariate relations), adjusted effect 

sizes (i.e., controlling for other variables such as health), and interaction effect sizes (e.g., the joint effect of volunteering and 

religiosity). For unadjusted effect sizes, on average, volunteering reduced mortality risk by 47%, with a 95% confidence interval ranging 

from 38% to 55%. For adjusted effect sizes, on average, volunteering reduced mortality risk by 24%, with a 95% confidence interval 

ranging from 16% to 31%. For interaction effect sizes, we found preliminary support that as public religiosity increases, the inverse 

relation between volunteering and mortality risk becomes stronger. The discussion identifies several unresolved issues and directions 

for future research.

Meta-analysis shows decreased risk of 

mortality among older adults who volunteer. 

Y

2014 The Benefits Associated 

With Volunteering Among 

Seniors: A Critical Review 

and Recommendations 

for Future Research.

Nicole D. Anderson, 

Thecla Damianakis, 

Edeltraut Kröger, 

Laura M. Wagner, 

Deirdre R. Dawson, 

Malcolm A. Binns, 

Syrelle Bernstein, 

Eilon Caspi, Suzanne 

L. Cook. 

There is an urgent need to identify lifestyle activities that reduce functional decline and dementia associated with population aging. The 

goals of this article are to review critically the evidence on the benefits associated with formal volunteering among older adults, 

propose a theoretical model of how volunteering may reduce functional limitations and dementia risk, and offer recommendations for 

future research. Database searches identified 113 papers on volunteering benefits in older adults, of which 73 were included. Data from 

descriptive, cross-sectional, and prospective cohort studies, along with 1 randomized controlled trial, most consistently reveal that 

volunteering is associated with reduced symptoms of depression, better self-reported health, fewer functional limitations, and lower 

mortality. The extant evidence provides the basis for a model proposing that volunteering increases social, physical, and cognitive 

activity (to varying degrees depending on characteristics of the volunteer placement) which, through biological and psychological 

mechanisms, leads to improved functioning; we further propose that these volunteering-related functional improvements should be 

associated with reduced dementia risk. Recommendations for future research are that studies (a) include more objective measures of 

psychosocial, physical, and cognitive functioning; (b) integrate qualitative and quantitative methods in prospective study designs; (c) 

explore further individual differences in the benefits associated with volunteering; (d) include occupational analyses of volunteers’ 

specific jobs in order to identify their social, physical, and cognitive complexity; (e) investigate the independent versus interactive health 

benefits associated with volunteering relative to engagement in other forms of activity; and (f) examine the relationship between 

volunteering and dementia risk. 

Review summarizing the evidence on 

volunteering in older adults.

Y

2017 Effectiveness of 

befriending interventions: 

A systematic review and 

meta-analysis

Siette, J., Cassidy, M., 

& Priebe, S.

Objective: Befriending is an emotional supportive relationship in which one-to-one companionship is provided on a regular basis by a 

volunteer. It is commonly and increasingly offered by the voluntary sector for individuals with distressing physical and mental 

conditions. However, the effectiveness of this intervention on health outcomes is largely unknown. We aim to conduct a systematic 

review of the benefits of befriending. Systematic Review Methods: A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted to 

identify randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental trials of befriending for a range of physical and mental health indications 

including depression, anxiety, mental illness, cancer, physical illness and dementia. Main outcomes included patient-relevant and 

disease-specific outcomes, such as depression, loneliness, quality of life, self-esteem, social support and well-being. Results: A total of 

14 trials (2411 participants) were included; 7 were judged at low risk of bias. Most trials showed improvement in symptoms associated 

with befriending but these associations did not reach statistical significance in all trials. Befriending was significantly associated with 

better patient-reported outcomes across primary measures (standardized mean difference 0.18 (95% CI, −0.002 to 0.36, I2=26%, seven 

trials)). However, there was no significant benefit on single outcomes, including depression, quality of life, loneliness ratings, selfesteem measures, social support structures and wellbeing. Conclusions: There was moderate quality evidence to support the use of 

befriending for the treatment of individuals with different physical and mental health conditions. This evidence refers to an overall 

improvement benefit in patient-reported primary outcomes, although with a rather small effect size. The current evidence base does 

not allow for firm conclusions on more specific outcomes. Future trials should hypothesize a model for the precise effects of befriending 

and use specified inclusion and outcome criteria.

Systematic review and meta-analysis, though 

not specific to older adults.

Y