The Influence of Voluntary Service Activities on Self-Esteem and Communication Skills among Korean University Students in Healthcare and Medical Fields
Abstract
Se-Won Kang
Objectives: This is a descriptive study intended to investigate characteristics of voluntary service activities of university students in healthcare and medical fields and to examine the influence of voluntary service activities on self-esteem and communication.
Methods: Data collection for this study continued from July to August 2015, and 200 universities located at B city in Korea who majored in healthcare and medical fields (nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dental hygiene, radiology, clinical pathology). The collected data were analyzed using the PASW Statistics 18.0 program.
Results: The results showed that68.3% of participants indicated that their self-esteem increased after voluntary service activities while 70.1% of participants indicated that their communication skills improved. Self-esteem scores based on participants’ characteristics varied depending on voluntary service participation attitude (p = 0.001), teamwork (p = 0.005), extent of feeling worthwhile (p = 0.039), and satisfaction with voluntary service (p<0.001). Additionally, communication skill scores varied depending on voluntary service activity experience p = 0.005), voluntary service participation attitude (p<0.001), teamwork (p = 0.001), extent of feeling worthwhile (p = 0.002), and satisfaction with voluntary service (p<0.001).
Conclusions: The results suggested that voluntary service activities could improve self-esteem and communication skills in university students. Influential variables included voluntary service activity experience, voluntary service participation attitude, teamwork, extent of feeling worthwhile, and satisfaction with voluntary service. There is a need to develop and promote various voluntary service programs tailored to university students that can motivate them to participate in voluntary service activities positively and actively, and to induce them to be engaged continuously in voluntary service activities.