VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY CARE

Volunteer inputs to community care (health and social services) are im portant in the developing mixed economy of welfare. And community care is a common locus for volunteering activity in the UK. But who are th ese volunteers! And what factors motivate and constrain volunteering! Using data from a UK household survey, the patterns of community care volunteering are examined using multivariate statistical methods. Many individual, household and other characteristics influence volunteerin g, with quite marked differences in the patterns for distinct types of community care activities: health and social welfare organisations ge nerally, supporting elderly people, visiting sick or elderly people, a nd transporting or escorting. Methodologically, the results point to f ailures of previous studies to address adequately the volunteering con tributions of, inter alia, black and minority ethnic groups and lower income groups. These and other findings have implications for communit y care policy and practice.