Constructing Well-being Together: Older Adults Engagement in Coproduction through Volunteering

Tiffany Knearem, Xiying Wang, John M.M. Carroll

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Many older adults participate in the local community through volunteering, and oftentimes they not only contribute positively to the community, but also become more attuned to an active and healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, engaging in reciprocal activities, known as coproduction, can facilitate older adults to boost their well-being. In this study, we are interested in understanding how older adults engage in coproduction with one another when volunteering, and how these coproductions support their well-being. We conducted interviews and observations with 19 healthy older adults who are part of a local water monitoring volunteer group. Our findings suggest that older adult's well-being is supported through four facets of coproduction; a sense of purpose, mutual support, engaged problem solving and co-location enabled physicality. We suggest that designing technologies to support coproduction should consider increasing the visibility of synergy as well as bring awareness to coproduction outcomes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationC and T 2021 - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Communities and Technologies
Subtitle of host publicationWicked Problems in the Age of Tech
EditorsFlorian Cech, Shelly Farnham
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages169-178
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450390569
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 20 2021
Event10th International Conference on Communities and Technologies: Wicked Problems in the Age of Tech, C and T 2021 - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: Jun 21 2021Jun 25 2021

Publication series

NameACM International Conference Proceeding Series

Conference

Conference10th International Conference on Communities and Technologies: Wicked Problems in the Age of Tech, C and T 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period6/21/216/25/21

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Networks and Communications

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Constructing Well-being Together: Older Adults Engagement in Coproduction through Volunteering'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this