A salutogenic approach to volunteering : A qualitative study on the sense of coherence among Hungarian volunteers working with Ukrainian refugees

Abstract: Due to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, millions of people had to leave their home country. As a neighbor of Ukraine, Hungary is highly affected by this crisis and thousands of volunteers help refugees in this difficult situation. As their role is central in emergency response, the health and wellbeing of volunteers are of high importance. The aim of this study was to examine the sense of coherence among Hungarian volunteers working with Ukrainian refugees. Sense of coherence is a core concept in Aaron Antonovsky’s salutogenic model (1979), and reflects on the psychological, social and cultural resources which help people to cope with everyday stressors. In order to explore how this theory can be applied in the context of volunteering, 6 semi-structured interviews were conducted and a deductive qualitative analysis was made with the sense of coherence theory as a framework. It resulted in three predetermined categories based on the three dimensions of sense of coherence: (1) Comprehensibility, (2) Manageability and (3) Meaningfulness. The analysis of qualitative data resulted in a total of twelve themes within the three categories (e.g. Effective communication and information flow are important to me.; Supportive team spirit and collaboration are important to me.; A strong sense of service gives me strength.; I believe helping others is its own reward.). The findings suggest that the concept of sense of coherence can be applied in the context of volunteering, revealing key aspects of comprehending, managing and making sense of volunteer work. Therefore, interventions based on this salutogenic approach would improve the mental health and well-being of volunteers through enabling them to cope with the challenges of volunteer work.