ArticleInternational journal of behavioral medicine2024
Informal Helping and Subsequent Health and Well-Being in Older U.S. Adults.
Article in International journal of behavioral medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Prosocial helping behaviors attenuate accelerated cognitive decline driven by APOE ε4.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Examination of Total Hours of Volunteering or Informal Helping Among Older Adults and Risk of Future Functional Disability Using Data From a Large Panel Study.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association · 2026Article
- Helping behaviors and cognitive function in later life: The impact of dynamic role transitions and dose changes.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2025Article
- Childhood predictors of charitable giving and helping across 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Demographic variation in charitable giving and helping across 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Who Benefits From Helping? Moderators of the Association Between Informal Helping and Mortality.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGrowing evidence suggests that informal helping (unpaid volunteering not coordinated by an organization or institution) is associated with improved health and well-being outcomes. However, studies have not investigated whether changes in informal helping are associated with subsequent health and well-being.
methodsThis study evaluated if changes in informal helping (between t
resultsOver the four-year follow-up period, informal helping ≥ 100 (versus 0) hours/year was associated with a 32% lower mortality risk (95% CI [0.54, 0.86]), and improved physical health (e.g., 20% reduced risk of stroke (95% CI [0.65, 0.98])), health behaviors (e.g., 11% increased likelihood of frequent physical activity (95% CI [1.04, 1.20])), and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., higher purpose in life (β = 0.15, 95% CI [0.07, 0.22])). However, there was little evidence of associations with various other outcomes. In secondary analyses, this study adjusted for formal volunteering and a variety of social factors (e.g., social network factors, receiving social support, and social participation) and results were largely unchanged.
conclusionsEncouraging informal helping may improve various aspects of individuals' health and well-being and also promote societal well-being.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.