Volunteering behaviours among UK military Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic and associations with health and well-being

TY - JOUR

T1 - Volunteering behaviours among UK military Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic and associations with health and well-being

AU - Sharp, Marie-Louise

AU - Jones, Margaret

AU - Burdett, Howard

AU - Fear, Nicola

N1 - Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the contributions of David Pernet, Dr. Danai Serfioti, Lisa Hull, Professor Dominic Murphy, and Professor Sir Simon Wessely in the original set-up, creation, and data collection of the Veterans-CHECK study from which this analysis arises. This research was funded by the Office of Veterans' Affairs, Cabinet Office, UK Government (Contract ref. CCZZ20A51). Funding Information: This research was funded by the Office of Veterans’ Affairs, Cabinet Office, UK Government (Contract ref. CCZZ20A51). Funding Information: King’s Centre for Military Health Research currently receives grant funding for the Health and Wellbeing Cohort from the Office For Veterans’ Affairs, Cabinet Office, UK Government. M-L Sharp’s salary was fully funded by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. NT Fear is a trustee (unpaid) for Help for Heroes, a non-profit supporting UK Armed Forces and is a member of the Independent Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPI-B). H Burdett’s salary is paid in part by a grant from the UK Ministry of Defence. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). All rights reserved.

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic facilitated new methods of and motivations for volunteering and created barriers to participation through social restrictions and lockdowns. The research assessing the volunteering behaviours of ex-service personnel (Veterans) is limited; however, as a group they may be more likely to volunteer because of aspects of military culture that encourage pro-social behaviours. The authors investigated levels of formal and informal volunteering among UK Veterans during the pandemic, factors associated with volunteering, and whether the pandemic affected Veterans' volunteering behaviours. Methods: An additional wave of data was collected from a longitudinal cohort study of the UK Armed Forces through an online survey conducted from June to September 2020. Participants were included if they had left the armed forces after regular service and were living in the United Kingdom. Invitation emails were sent to 3,547 Veterans, with a 44% response rate (N = 1,562). Results: Overall, 60% of Veterans reported volunteering in the past 12 months. Of those who volunteered, 41% reported formal volunteering, and 44% reported informal volunteering. Veterans reported reducing formal volunteering because of the pandemic (45%), but they also reported increasing informal volunteering (66%). Discussion: During the pandemic, UK Veterans volunteered at a level similar to the UK general population. They reported higher levels of formal volunteering and lower levels of informal volunteering compared with the UK general population. Understanding who among Veterans is likely to engage in volunteering could support future strategies to engage volunteers and open more opportunities for participation.

AB - Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic facilitated new methods of and motivations for volunteering and created barriers to participation through social restrictions and lockdowns. The research assessing the volunteering behaviours of ex-service personnel (Veterans) is limited; however, as a group they may be more likely to volunteer because of aspects of military culture that encourage pro-social behaviours. The authors investigated levels of formal and informal volunteering among UK Veterans during the pandemic, factors associated with volunteering, and whether the pandemic affected Veterans' volunteering behaviours. Methods: An additional wave of data was collected from a longitudinal cohort study of the UK Armed Forces through an online survey conducted from June to September 2020. Participants were included if they had left the armed forces after regular service and were living in the United Kingdom. Invitation emails were sent to 3,547 Veterans, with a 44% response rate (N = 1,562). Results: Overall, 60% of Veterans reported volunteering in the past 12 months. Of those who volunteered, 41% reported formal volunteering, and 44% reported informal volunteering. Veterans reported reducing formal volunteering because of the pandemic (45%), but they also reported increasing informal volunteering (66%). Discussion: During the pandemic, UK Veterans volunteered at a level similar to the UK general population. They reported higher levels of formal volunteering and lower levels of informal volunteering compared with the UK general population. Understanding who among Veterans is likely to engage in volunteering could support future strategies to engage volunteers and open more opportunities for participation.

UR - https://jmvfh.utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/jmvfh-2022-0056

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166221668&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - DOI: 10.3138/jmvfh-2022-0056

DO - DOI: 10.3138/jmvfh-2022-0056

M3 - Article

SN - 2368-7924

VL - 9

SP - 50

EP - 61

JO - Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health

JF - Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health

IS - 3

ER -