Unmet healthcare needs and volunteering during the COVID‐19 pandemic in the European Union: Exploring heterogeneity in age classes

Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between volunteering and unmet healthcare needs (UHN) during the COVID‐19 pandemic in EU countries, focusing on different age groups. Previous studies have shown that younger people are more likely to report UHN than older people in the EU. To investigate UHN, the paper uses data from Eurofound's ‘Living, Working and COVID‐19’ e‐survey and estimates probit models using several control variables and robustness checks. The results reveal a positive and statistically significant correlation between volunteering and a higher probability of reporting UHN among both younger and older groups of the population. Significant differences in UHN across age groups emerge when considering self‐perceived health and unemployment.