Voluntary work: an alternative to promote health for the elderly

Abstract

This article is a thematic reflection. It aims at presenting volunteer work as an alternative for promoting health for elders in Brazil. Having as a starting point the definition of volunteer work, this study contextualizes this type of activity in Brazilian society, explaining it also as an instrument that makes possible for people to experience an active and healthy aging process. The text presents international studies with elders who volunteer and, as a result, have found a relationship between volunteering and satisfaction with their lives and have had less symptoms of depression and a more positive evaluation of life when compared to elderly who do not volunteer. The conclusion emphasizes the importance for health professionals to stimulate and facilitate the access of elders to volunteer work, considering this posture a creative and innovative challenge for the promotion of health for the elderly.