AUTHOR=Strkljevic Ima , Tiedemann Anne , Souza de Oliveira Juliana , Haynes Abby , Sherrington Cathie 

TITLE=Health professionals’ involvement in volunteering their professional skills: a scoping review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1368661

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1368661

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Volunteering positively affects overall health of both volunteers and recipients through social interaction, support and physical activity. Health professionals’ volunteering has considerable potential to improve health outcomes in communities.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Objectives</title><p>This study aimed to summarize published scientific literature regarding volunteering by health professionals.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Method</title><p>Medine, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO and CINAHLdatabases were searched to identify eligible studies published between 2010 and 2023. Data on study methods and findings were extracted and synthesized.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Results</title><p>Of the 144 eligible studies, 80 (56%) used quantitative methods, 46 (32%) used qualitative, 18 (12%) used mixed methods and 8 (6%) were interventional. Doctors (74 studies, 51%) and nurses (<italic>n</italic> = 40, 28%) were the professions with most reports of volunteering. Half the studies were from USA (<italic>n</italic> = 77, 53%), followed by UK (<italic>n</italic> = 19, 13%), Canada (<italic>n</italic> = 12, 8%), and Australia/New Zealand (<italic>n</italic> = 11, 8%). International volunteering in low-to-middle-income countries was reported in 64 studies (44%). Providing service and training were the dominant types of activities (<italic>n</italic> = 90, 62.5%), with health promotion reported in only 4 studies (3%). Studies reported positive impact from volunteering, both professionally and personally. Time and family commitments were the main barriers. Enablers, barriers and impact were summarized in a socio-ecological map.</p></sec><sec id="sec5"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Health professionals volunteer in diverse activities and report multifaceted benefits. Studies of volunteering interventions could enable new, sustainable approaches to health promotion.</p></sec>