Learning from the evaluation of the Health & Social Care Volunteering Fund

‘Measuring the impact of volunteering in health and care’ , CSV and NNVIA conference, 20th March 2014, London

Jane SouthProfessor, Leeds Metropolitan University &

Public Health England

Acknowledgements• The HSCVF evaluation was commissioned by

ECORYS (fund managers on behalf of DH) and HSCVF partners- Attend, CSV and Primetimers.

• Evaluation was carried out by a team from Centre for Health Promotion Research, Leeds Metropolitan University: – Jane South [PI], Ruth Cross, Karina Kinsella, Louise

Warwick-Booth, James Woodall, Judy White.

Volunteering – what we know• Part of a ‘cluster of helping

behaviours’ with many motivations (Wilson 2000).

• Associated with health and social benefits for volunteers (Casiday 2008; Jenkinson et al. 2013)

• Scaleable but intensity varies (Low et al. 2008)

• Social relationships and networks are important for determinants of health (The Marmot Review, 2010)

Big questions

• What can volunteering offer the health and care system?

• How do we capture the effects?• How can we strengthen the evidence base on

volunteering to support commissioning and practice in health and social care?

Department of Health’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

• Capacity building programme – funds and support package

• 2010 & 2011 rounds, 94 local and 13 national projects based in VCSE organisations

• For further details of projects see: http://volunteeringfund.com/map

Local projects by funding themeThemes %2010 projects (n=43)  Addressing Social Care priorities 16Health inequalities 21Both themes 63

2011 projects (n=51)  Patient-led NHS 14Delivering better health outcomes 12Improving public health 26Improving health and social care 49

Source: HSCVF project monitoring forms

Desk-based Review

Workshops (3)

Case Studies –2 national

6 local

Volunteers’ Views Survey• 623 volunteers• 468 online• 155 paper• 70 out of 107 projects• 40% response rate

National Interviews (9)

37-item self administered questionnaire

Volunteers motivations, activities and tasks

(5 questions)

Training experiences(14 questions)

Volunteers background (12 questions)

Benefit of volunteering (6 questions)

Evaluation design & methods 107 projects - 94 local and 13 national

Volunteer roles

Most common volunteering activities were (n= 623):• befriending (45%) • giving advice,

information, counselling (38%)

• practical help (33%) • visiting people (32%)• organising or helping run

events (25%).

Who did volunteers work with?

Source: Volunteers’ Views Survey. South et al. (2013) An evaluation of the Department of Health’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

What benefits do you get from volunteering, if any?

TOP 5 % (n= 570)I really enjoy it 50It gives me a sense of personal achievement 47It broadens my experience of life 41I meet people and make friends through it 40It gives me a chance to learn new skills 35It improves my confidence 27

I do not feel I gain any benefits 1

Source: Volunteers’ Views Survey. South et al. (2013) An evaluation of the Department of Health’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

Views about impact of projects in the community

Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

240

152

20

3 1

236

155

21

3 1

136

193

68

132

My project is making a difference in the communityMy project reaches people with a lot of needsI feel valued by my community

Perc

ent

Contribution to health & social care

• Community outreach• Diffusion of knowledge• Power of peer support• Caring, connected and

capable communities

‘I think when you are saying you are a carer yourself, then you just

want to help other carers, that barrier goes down.’ [Older

People’s Budgets]

‘These volunteers are the first step of knowledge about the

whole thing. Midwives, Doctors, GP surgeries don’t reach to that

point. These volunteers are reaching right out into the community, and even their

families it’s wonderful.’ [Maternity Outreach]

Impact of volunteering on social networks

Increased Remained the same

Decreased Don’t know0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70392

196

219

306

287

2 12

341

253

1 16

Network of friends

Neighbours and community

People from other communities/religious backgrounds

Perc

ent

Who felt more connected to their community?

More likely Less Likely• Older participants (60 and

over)• Younger participants (16-29)

• Wholly retired • 6 months to 1 year of volunteering experience

• Who volunteered between 1 and 5 hours

• Volunteered for less than 1 hour in the last 4 weeks

• Who volunteered for longer than 1 year

• Those in education, carers, permanently sick/disabled

Implications• The HSCVF as a capacity buildng programme was able to

strengthen volunteering focused on health and social care priorities

• Volunteer supply + health and social care need + reach into communities

BUT …

• A unique offer so avoid unnecessary professional ‘creep’ and formalisation of roles

• Reversing the inverse care law needs some investment in volunteering and VCS organisations

Strengthening the evidence base• Examine the contribution of volunteers within a

local system – the value added• Better understanding of the mechanisms of

change that lead to health and social care outcomes, including reducing inequalities

• Share learning about models that work in practice• Ask questions about scale; reach; community

capacity and connections; quality of relationships• Connect existing evidence and research

Working with communities – empowerment, evidence and learning

A PHE and NHS England project to draw together and disseminate existing evidence and learning on working with communities and supporting community-centred health and wellbeing interventions.

17

Thank you

• Download the full report and summary fromhttp://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/vfp/ under OUTPUTS• For further information please contactjane.south@phe.gov.uk

References• Casiday, R., Kinsman, E., Fisher, C. & Bambra, C. (2008) Volunteering and

health; what impact does it really have?, London: Volunteering England.• Low, N., et al. (2008) Helping out. A national survey of volunteering and

charitable giving, Cabinet Office, Office of the Third Sector.• Jenkinson, C. et al. (2013) Is volunteering a public health intervention? A

systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers. BMC Public Health 2013, 13:773. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/13/773

• The Marmot Review ( 2010a) Fair Society, Healthy Lives. The Marmot Review, Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post-2010, London, The Marmot Review.

• Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 215-240.