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Research report about volunteering and cognitive ability ...

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Different aspects of volunteering create different cognitive increases in ability

Name: xxx xxx xxx Student Number: xxx xxx xxx Signature: xxx xxx xxx Demonstrator: xxx xxx xxx Lab Number: xxx xxx xxx Word Count: 2050

Abstract Previous research has showed that cognitive performance may be increased in older adults by volunteering (Guiney, Keall and Machado, 2020). Other research showed that environmental factors can decrease cognitive performance (Shirbekk, Loichinger and Weber (2011). The current study aims to combine both of these studies as well as add a new factor to the study; different aspects of volunteering to see if a low socioeconomic status affects cognitive ability, and how different aspects of volunteering can increase cognitive ability. Volunteers will be sent to four different volunteering activities over the course of four weeks to experience different aspects of volunteering. It is hypothesized that that participants who grew up in lower socioeconomic households will have a lower cognitive ability, the highest increase in cognitive ability after the volunteering activity and that the social aspect of volunteering will create a bigger increase in cognitive ability than the physical and emotional aspects.

Review As humans grow older, the ability to cognitively function has the potential to decrease because of cognitive impairment. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s’ primary risk factor is age, with potential onset doubling every five years (Bilkey, 2020). Volunteering is linked to increased cognitive functioning (Guiny, Keall and Machado 2020), however what is unknown is if those who volunteer between the age of 65-75 do so because of increased cognitive functioning, or if volunteering increases cognitive functioning. The study I am proposing focuses on two main points. The first point looks at if the environment that people grow up in causes greater cognitive decline in some circumstances. The second point looks at if volunteering causes increased cognitive ability or if increased cognitive ability causes more volunteering. Therefore my research question is “does childhood socioeconomic status affect cognitive ability, and can volunteering affect cognitive ability in those with a low socioeconomic status” Guiney, Keall and Machado (2020) conducted a study that looked into the relationship between cognitive functioning and volunteering amongst those between the ages of 65-75. They aimed to find a link between how active the retired seniors were when volunteering and how that activity changed the cognitive performance of the seniors. The results found that there was evidence to support the idea that seniors who volunteer in their community at least one time per month have a better working memory, along with better social and cognitive activity (Guiney, Keall and Machado, 2020). The study did not find satisfactory evidence supporting the hypothesis that activity was the underlying reason that volunteering created better

cognitive functioning amongst retired 65-75 year olds. The authors concluded that although the current study provided some insight into volunteering and cognitive abilities, future research would need to find the underlying causes of the link, as activity did not seem to be correlated. My argument is that early childhood socioeconomic status, along with a late diagnosis of certain cognitive impairments cause older people not to volunteer because of cognitive decline. The study discussed above did not control for the variable that participants may have volunteered because of their increased cognitive function. Brodaty (1999) found that the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear and worsen before a diagnosis is usually given, and it can be up to 3 years between the onset of symptoms and when a diagnosis is given. Between those three years, senior citizens will have cognitive impairment and decline, making them less likely to be able to volunteer, but still considered cognitively unimpaired because they have not been diagnosed yet. In relation to the Guiney, Keall and Machado (2020) study, participants could have had early stage Alzheimer’s, with cognitive symptoms present, but without a diagnosis, creating an illusion that not volunteering causes cognitive decline, when cognitive decline and impairment was already present. This is a variable that my study will take into account. Another weakness in the present study was the lack of variability regarding the location of the participants. The study was conducted in New Zealand, which is a developed country. Shirbekk, Loichinger, and Weber (2011) conducted a study about how different environments in the world can produce different cognitive abilities amongst elderly people. They suggest that environmental factors such as

nutrition, quality of duration of education, possible exposure to disease, and sickness and social activity patterns play a role in the cognitive ability of people. Therefore, the results that were gained in New Zealand, in my opinion may be different from those results that could be gained from developing countries, or in other places in New Zealand, where the participants may have grown up in different circumstances where environmental factors are different. For example, in rural villages in Africa, where water supplies are scarce, and food is often rationed, results may vary, either significantly or not, because of the lack of nutrition that their bodies obtain on a daily basis. Another example is in the poorer areas of New Zealand, such as South Auckland, where education access for many young people are not up to the same standard as those children in New Zealand whose parents can afford a private education, results would also vary from the original city. To counteract this weakness, I will ask participants what their socioeconomic status was growing up using the PCS3 socioeconomic status questionnaire. The risk of cognitive decline from a low socioeconomic status is corroborated with the risk factors of dementia which include a lack of education, obesity and social isolation. Volunteering has been linked to an increased cognitive ability amongst older adults aged 65-75. Cognitive ability has also been linked to childhood socioeconomic status. My research question is “does childhood socioeconomic status affect cognitive ability, and does that cognitive ability affect older people's ability to volunteer?”. I believe that some older adults do not volunteer because of a cognitive decline which is caused by childhood socioeconomic status and late diagnoses of cognitive impairments. This argument is supported by Brodaty (1996)

who found that Alzheimer's Disease was not diagnosed until up to 3 years after the initial onset of symptoms, and by Shirbekk et al (2011) that found that different environments can cause faster cognitive decline. Proposal Guiney, Keall and Machado (2020) suggested that volunteering is linked to increased cognitive ability amongst people between the ages of 65-75. Shirbekk, Loichinger and Weber (2011) conducted a study that supported the idea that environmental factors such as socioeconomic status, education access, nutrition and access to healthcare affect a person’s cognitive ability when they become older. To introduce a new aspect to the two previous studies, the current study will look at the social aspect, the emotional aspect, the physical aspect and the combined aspect of volunteering. The reason for this is so that the results can help individuals with certain disabilities know what type of volunteering to complete to increase their cognitive ability, without putting themselves in harm’s way with other possible aspects they may not be able to complete. Combining Guiney, Keall and Machado (2020), and Shirbekk, Loichinger and Weber (2011), the proposed study will look at how different aspects of volunteering may affect the cognitive ability of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. It is hypothesized that that participants who grew up in lower socioeconomic households will have a lower cognitive ability, the highest increase in cognitive ability after the volunteering activity and that the social aspect of volunteering will create a more significant increase in cognitive ability than the physical and emotional aspects

Method Participants Participants will be recruited by sign-up sheets at rest homes, radio advertisements and newspaper advertisements. There will be 40 adults over the age of 65 years old. Apparatus Multiple items will be needed for various volunteering activities including 10 board games, soil, 10 shovels, seeds of any nature, instant soup mix, noodles, one catering pot preferably holding 50l, however other sizes are not an issue, 2 ladles, bread, tea, coffee, milk, and sugar, a computer and a printer. Design This study will have a within-subjects design, as all participants experience all levels of the study. The manipulated variable will be what volunteering activity the participants are assigned to on that week. There are four levels of the proposed study; the social volunteering activity, the physical volunteering activity, the emotional volunteering activity and the combined volunteering activity. Participants will be divided into four groups of 10 people. Procedure Participants will begin by taking the Montreal cognitive assessment on paper to identify any possible cognitive impairments amongst the participants. They will then be asked what their average household income was for them between the ages of 0-12. Researchers will write that next to their name. They will also be asked how often they currently volunteer in the community. Participants will then be sent out to four different volunteering tasks, one task taking place over

the course of a week. Depending on what rotation the volunteer is on, they will be given a sheet with instructions and information regarding their activities for the week (see appendix A, B, C, and D). The four rotations include playing board games with residents of a rest home, being an emotional support person for patients and their families in hospice or palliative care landscaping for an anonymous person, and serving the other volunteers in a soup kitchen. The rotations begin at 11am and last for 3 hours a day, excluding a half hour break for lunch, which will be provided by the volunteers in the soup kitchen. Those in the soup kitchen will be able to have lunch after they have served the other volunteers and may finish early if all dishes are completed before the end of the time period. After each week, the participants will retake the Montreal cognitive assessment.

Results The dependent variable is how well the participants do in the Montreal cognitive assessment. The variable will be calculated and averaged across all four levels of the study. The results will then be sorted into four groups, regarding the participants answer about their childhood socioeconomic status; poverty; working class, middle class and upper class. A t-test will be performed to find the p value to see if the result differences are statistically significant. The significance level will be 0.5. The results of the study will be presented as percentage increases. The results will be shown on a table similar to what is presented below.

Table 1 Original Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scores

Montreal Cognitive

Poverty 15

Working Class 18

Middle Class 19

Upper Class 22

Assessment Scores

Poverty

Working Class

Middle Class

Upper Class

Social Activity

60

58

59

56

Physical Activity

54

40

44

42

Emotional

55

45

47

41

57

50

52

49

Activity Combined Activity

Table 2 Increase in Montreal cognitive assessment scores

As shown in table 1, it is predicted that those who lived in poverty during childhood will have the lowest initial scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. As shown in table 2, it is predicted that the social volunteering activity will produce a higher score on the Montreal cognitive assessment than the physical, emotional or combined activity. It is also predicted that those lived in poverty in childhood will have a higher increase in scores than those who didn’t not live in poverty. It is predicted that physical activity will produce the least amount of change, and that those who lived in the upper class as children will have the lowest percentage change in their scores.

Implications The first implication of this study is that it requires participants to be able to be a little physically active. This study may not be accessible for those who have serious physical disabilities such as being in a wheelchair or needing crutches for mobility. To counteract this implication, an alternative may be able to be given for those who are unable to physically participate in the planting of seeds. Although the alternative will still need to be physical, it will be their level of physical. The second implication of this study is that those participants who receive a perfect or near score on the first Montreal cognitive assessment will have nowhere to improve on, therefore they would not be able to participate in the study. To counteract this, a separate second test may be given to those who achieve above

a score of 27 on the Montreal cognitive assessment and the improvement may be taken from that result instead of the Montreal cognitive assessment.

References Brodaty, H. (1999). Realistic expectations for the management of Alzheimer’s disease. European neuropsychopharmacology. Guiney, H., Keall, M., & Machado, L. (2020). Volunteering in older adulthood is associated with activity engagement and cognitive functioning Aging. Neuropsychology, and Cognition. Shribekk, V., Loichinger, E., & Weber D. (2011). Variation in cognitive functioning as a refined approach to comparing aging across countries. PNAS

Bilkey, D. Memory and Disease. Brain and Cognition. 2020

Appendix Appendix A For this week’s rotation, you will be working to serve other volunteers in a soup kitchen. Working along nine other volunteers also in this rotation, it will be your job to make and serve soup with bread, tea and coffee to 30 volunteers. All equipment will be supplied to you. Below is the recipe and instructions for the soup needed to be made today.

20 tbsp. corn starch 12 c. heavy cream Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Shredded cheddar, for serving Chopped cooked bacon, for serving Freshly chopped chives, for serving

INGREDIENTS (Makes 40 servings) 20 tbsp. butter 10 large onions, chopped 20 cloves garlic, minced 10 tsp. fresh thyme leaves 60 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced 40 c. low-sodium chicken broth 10 c. plus 2 tbsp. milk, divided

INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Set Instant Pot to Sauté function and melt butter. Add onion and cook until soft, then add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. 2. Add potatoes and broth and place lid on Instant Pot. Set to Pressure Cook on High and set time for 80 minutes. Once finished, turn valve to quick release.

3.

In a small bowl whisk together 20 tablespoons milk and corn starch to make a slurry. 4. Remove lid from Instant Pot and set to Sauté function again. Pour in slurry, remaining 1 cup milk, and heavy cream and let boil stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 5. Garnish with cheddar, bacon, and chives before serving

Information accessed from: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipeideas/a25238472/instant-pot-potato-soup/ Appendix B For this week’s rotation, you have been assigned to help an anonymous person to landscape their house. For experimental purposes, any communication is not allowed under any circumstances, unless absolutely necessary. During volunteering hours, you are needed to dig the land, plant the seeds available to you and then water the plants. Below are instructions explaining how to plant the seeds.

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Fill the seed trays with seed compost (seed starting potting mix). 2. Moisten the surface of the compost. 3. Sprinkle the seeds evenly over the compost. 4. Cover the seed tray to keep it dark and moist and place the seed tray in a warm place. 5. Uncover the seedlings once they germinate (sprout). 6. Transplant the seedlings into smaller, individual pots to give them room. 7. Keep transplanted seedlings in the shade.

8. Plant them out into the ground (or wherever you want the plant to live) and enjoy!

Information accessed from: https://dengarden.com/gardening/How-toSow-Seeds

Appendix C For this week’s rotation, you have been assigned to play board games with residents in a rest home. Alongside other volunteers, this rotation requires you to play board games with residents in a rest

home.

Communication

is

strongly

encouraged

during

volunteering hours. Below are the board games available for play during the week, feel free to play more than one board game.

BOARD GAMES

1. Monopoly 2. Battleships 3. Chess 4. Checkers 5. Card Games 6. Snakes and Ladders

7. Cluedo 8. Game of Life 9. Rat Race 10. Candyland

Appendix D For this week’s rotation, you are looking after patients and their families who are in palliative or hospice care. Your job as a volunteer is to help the patient and family emotionally, listening to them share stories, talk or whatever else the family may want to do. Below are tips on how to be emotionally supportive TIPS

1. Actively Listen to the patient 2. Ask questions 3. validate their emotions 4. Be aware of your own body language- people can tell when you aren’t paying attention 5. Patients may not always be straight forward, try to estimate and understand their emotions 6. Listen to family members

Information accessed from: https://www.wikihow.com/Give-EmotionalSupport...