Potential benefits of environmental volunteering programs of the health of older adults: a pilot study

Purpose: To study the effects of participating in a 12-week environmental volunteering program on the physical performance of older adults across different age groups Materials and Methods: We conducted a pretest-posttest pilot study with a single group. The intervention consisted of twice-weekly recycling activities and once-weekly rehabilitation exercise at community-based care centers. The recycling activities of the environmental volunteering program included sorting and handling paper products, plastics, and metals; disposing electronic products; and sorting clothes. The rehabilitation exercise program comprised a 90-min course for special needs and 30 min of health education. The evaluation tools were the handgrip strength, five-times-sit-to-stand test, sit-and-reach test, Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and usual and fast gait speeds. Results: In total, 45 participants completed the program. After the program, the participants showed significantly great improvements compared to baseline in all outcome measures. We further divided these participants into two age subgroups [65-75 years (n = 31) and > 75 years (n = 14)]. The 65-75-year subgroup only showed significant improvements in handgrip strength, TUG and usual gait speed. However, the > 75-year subgroup showed significant improvements in all outcome measures. Conclusions: This innovative environmental volunteering program conducted in a local Taiwanese community can be a sustainable and feasible model to improve physical performance in the participants, the subgroup aged > 75 years in particular. It also provides a potential avenue for researchers and policymakers to address environmental and aging-related issues.