National Volunteer Week 2025

National Volunteer Week (19-25 May) celebrates volunteers and the importance of volunteer roles in our community.

Ima Strkljevic, physiotherapist and one of our PhD Candidates, is a passionate advocate for volunteering in promotion of physical activity and health ageing.

Her research focuses on the health benefits of volunteering among health professionals, an area where evidence is still scarce, especially regarding allied health professionals and health promotion. The health benefits of volunteering, for both the volunteers and the service recipients, are well documented in the literature- volunteering improves physical, mental and social health, it promotes healthy behaviours, better disease management, cognitive function, social interaction, and reduces loneliness and mortality.

Through her volunteering, Ima actively supports older adults in maintaining their independence through physical activity and falls prevention programs. Many older adults remain unaware of these benefits or face financial and accessibility barriers to physical activity programs. Volunteering is ensuring that more older adults can age actively and independently.

To make a broader impact, Ima is working on developing a program that will enable physiotherapists and other health professionals to volunteer their expertise. By assisting older adults in staying active and preventing falls, we can champion a movement where volunteering not only enhances individual well-being but strengthens communities.

Learn more in this review led by Ima.

Staff and students at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health also volunteer in the production of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database. They join volunteers from over 26 countries as Raters, translators, committee members and working parties to help produce the largest database of physiotherapy evidence in the world.