Retention of volunteers and factors influencing program performance of the Senior Care Volunteers Training Program in Jiangsu, China

BACKGROUND: As the country with the largest aging population, China faces an enormous challenge with its elderly support and care. One of the proposed solutions is the development of volunteerism for elderly care. The Senior Care Volunteers Training Program (SCVTP) was initiated by the Red Cross Society of China with the purpose of training volunteers to care for community seniors. As one of the four pilot provinces, Jiangsu Province launched the program since 2017. AIMS: The present study was conducted to investigate the dropout rate of trained volunteer group leaders, the characteristics of the retained trained volunteer group leaders and the activities that their groups conducted. Additionally, the exploration of the factors influencing the SCVTP’s performance was listed as another aim. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was designed. The study used purposive sampling to select participants who meet the criteria from all the trained volunteer group leaders (n = 623). Demographic questionnaire, volunteer role identity (VRI) scale, attitude toward helping others (AHO) scale, team climate and atmosphere (TCA) scale, and volunteer program performance evaluation (VPPE) questionnaire were used to collect the data online. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the dropout rate and general characteristics of the retained volunteers and the activities. A multiple linear regression equation was developed to study the factors that influence program performance. RESULTS: In total, 307 questionnaires were valid in the study. About 67.9%, 53.7%, and 30.0% of the trained volunteer group leaders dropped out of the program in the year of 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. The retained trained volunteer group leaders were more likely to be females (84.7%), those in excellent health (75.2%) and with a bachelor’s degree or above (87.6%). Less attention has been paid to frailty care (n = 76) than other volunteer caring activities (e.g., safe care: n = 277, diet care: n = 250, drug management care: n = 226). VRI (β = 0.118, p = 0.017), AHO (β = 0.134, p = 0.021), TCA (β = 0.459, p<0.001), and financial sustainability (β = 0.179, p<0.001) affected the SCVTP’s performance significantly (adjusted R(2) = 0.356). CONCLUSION: High rate of trained volunteer group leaders’ dropout should be brought to the policymaker’s attention. The characteristics of the retained trained volunteer group leaders provide a useful reference for the recruitment of trainees in the future. Frailty care may need more training by the volunteer service provider. In order to enhance program performance, a better team climate and atmosphere, financial sustainability, and volunteers with appropriate attitude and role identity are also necessary for the volunteer program.