According to sufficiently reported outcomes , social capital interventions showed mixed effects on quality of life , well-being and self-perceived health and were generally ineffective on loneliness , mood and mortality .
Conclusions Our review highlights the lack of evidence and the diversity among trials , while supporting the potential of social capital interventions to reach comprehensive health effects in older adults
Background Observational studies show that social capital is a protective health factor .
Therefore , we aim to assess the currently unclear health impact of social capital interventions targeting older adults .
Volunteering: A Physical Activity Intervention for Older Adults—The Experience Corps® Program in Baltimore
There is compelling evidence supporting the benefits of increased regular physical activity in older adults . The Experience Corps program in Baltimore MD was design ed 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 h a week in roles design ed 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 r and omized controlled evaluation , older adults were r and omly 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 ≥15 h a week . At follow-up after 4–8 months , an analysis of 113 r and omized 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<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 intensity volunteer program that is design ed as a health promotion intervention can lead , in the short-term , to significant improvements in the level of physical activity of previously inactive older adult volunteers
According to sufficiently reported outcomes , social capital interventions showed mixed effects on quality of life , well-being and self-perceived health and were generally ineffective on loneliness , mood and mortality .
Conclusions Our review highlights the lack of evidence and the diversity among trials , while supporting the potential of social capital interventions to reach comprehensive health effects in older adults
Background Observational studies show that social capital is a protective health factor .
Therefore , we aim to assess the currently unclear health impact of social capital interventions targeting older adults .