健康づくりボランティア養成講座が中高齢者の心理社会的側面に及ぼす影響

抄録

This study investigated the psychological and social effects of health promotion volunteer training. Participants were 37 community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. They were categorized into two groups: 18 who underwent training (participating group) and 19 who did not (non-participating group). Five two-hour volunteer training sessions (one-hour theory and one-hour practical skills) were held. Topics covered in the theory sessions included “advantages and disadvantages of exercise" and “adherence to exercise"; practical skills sessions covered topics such as “exercise methods" and “communication methods." To examine the psychological and social effects of the training program, the questionnaires were distributed to participants before and after the training, about their “motivations for community participation," “life satisfaction," and “sense of self-efficacy." The attendance rate of the training program was 92.3%. The results of the questionnaires showed improvements on the self-efficacy scale (F(1, 34) = 4.21, P < 0.05). This may be because participants learned only how to improve their credentials as volunteers at this stage of training, producing only minor psychological effects. In the future, more significant psychological and social effects of the training will probably be seen once the trained participants start volunteering in communities.