A Scoping Review of Hospital Volunteer Programs for Older Adults

Introduction As a result of population ageing, the majority of hospital days in North American and European hospitals are accounted for by older adults, many of whom are frail and stay longer than younger patients. Hospitals are increasingly welcoming the establishment of volunteer programs that can facilitate the increased care needs of older patients. Methods and Analysis This scoping review aims to identify and synthesise the current literature on volunteer-based hospital interventions for older adults in high-income countries in North America and Europe. Given the breadth of existing research on volunteerism in different healthcare domains, a scoping review is suitable to address the above mentioned research questions and strategically map findings as they relate to interventions for older adults and hospital settings (e.g., acute care, emergency services, rehabilitation) (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005). This review will not focus on volunteer interventions in outpatient hospital settings, though the researchers recognise the significant role volunteers can have within these contexts. This protocol will follow the five-stage scoping review framework by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), which includes: (1) outlining the research questions of interest; (2) identifying relevant studies; (3) selecting studies that meet inclusion criteria; (4) charting data/key results; (5) synthesising and report findings. This review will abide by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. It is intended that our scoping review will provide findings related to geriatric research, practice, and policy to improve volunteer programs for older adults in hospital settings. We define high income countries in accordance to the World Bank (2021; https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups): Andorra, Greece, Poland, Antigua and Barbuda, Greenland, Portugal, Aruba, Guam,Puerto Rico, Australia, Hong Kong SAR China, Qatar, Austria, Hungary, San Marino, Bahamas, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Ireland, Seychelles, Barbados,Isle of Man, Singapore, Belgium, Israel, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Bermuda, Italy, Slovak Republic, British Virgin Islands, Japan, Slovenia, Brunei Darussalam, Korea Rep., Spain, Canada, Kuwait, St. Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, Latvia, St. Martin (French part), Channel Islands, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Chile, Lithuania, Switzerland, Croatia, Luxembourg, Taiwan China, Curaçao, Macao SAR China, Trinidad and Tobago Cyprus, Malta, Turks and Caicos Islands, Czech Republic, Monaco, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Nauru, United Kingdom, Estonia, Netherlands, United States, Faroe Islands, New Caledonia Uruguay, Finland, New Zealand, Virgin Islands (U.S.), France, Northern Mariana Islands French Polynesia, Norway, Germany, Oman, Gibraltar, Palau Stage 1: Outline the research questions The following research questions were developed by the senior author (SS) and first author (KMK) after consulting the existing literature. The primary research question is: What is the scope of existing empirical literature exploring the role of volunteers in hospital-based interventions for older adults? We will also ask three sub-questions: (1) what are the characteristics (i.e., role and functions) of volunteers included in interventions for older adults in hospital settings? (2) what key elements make up a successful volunteer program for hospitalized older adults?, (3) how do volunteer programs affect hospitalized older adults? Stage 2: Identify relevant studies The search strategy will be developed by the first (KMK) and senior author (SS) in consultation with a medical information specialist. The final search strategy was revised and formatted in consultation with one medical information specialist. The following four databases were selected: PsycINFO, OVID Medline, Ageline, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text. These databases were chosen due to their relevance to the field of geriatric research and practice, interdisciplinary healthcare, and volunteerism within the realm of healthcare. To enhance the scope and breadth of our findings, a hand search of the references from relevant articles will be conducted. In addition, a search for grey literature will be conducted by searching for relevant healthcare guidelines. Due to the evolution of hospital care, this scoping review will only include literature published since 1998-2022, as we have identified 1998 as the time period when seminal work was done looking at volunteer programs . We chose to focus on only high-income countries as hospital-systems may differ due to political, economic, societal and healthcare system needs. Stage 3: Select studies that meet inclusion criteria After compiling a complete list of relevant articles from the aforementioned databases, a review of the article title and abstract will be conducted by the main author (KMK) alongside a second reviewer. The same two reviewers will also review full-text articles. The senior author (SS) will resolve any questions or discrepancies during both stages of review. The online platform Covidence will be used to support efficient screening, article review and charting during this process. Stage 4: Chart data/key results Content will be reviewed and charted under the following headings: authors, year of publication, country where article was published, and/or country the research focuses on, name of journal, format of paper, implementation factors of the intervention identified, additional healthcare providers referenced in article, outlined implications for older adults and geriatric medicine, settings/care services focused on, outlined benefits of the volunteer intervention, and recommendations for implementing volunteer-based interventions in other hospital settings. A Sinai Health Systems information specialist who specialises in scoping reviews will also be consulted in developing the final data extraction strategy. Stage 5: Synthesise and report findings We will synthesize our findings narratively. Findings from this review will be disseminated through published scholarly material.

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