A Few Good Men: It’s Not Easy Recruiting Male Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to explore how to engage male volunteers in hospice palliative care. Four male hospice palliative care volunteers were interviewed in study 1. The men agreed that a direct approach is best when it comes to recruiting male volunteers, especially a personal story or testimonial. Two different volunteer position descriptions were created for study 2: one description was similar to what might appear on a community-based hospice palliative care program's web site or in a newspaper ad looking for visiting hospice palliative care volunteers; the other description was in the form of a personal testimonial ostensibly written by a male hospice palliative care volunteer describing his role through examples of interactions he has had with patients and patients' family members. Twenty-five males responded to each description. Both of the descriptions generated low and nonsignificantly different levels of interest in becoming a hospice palliative care volunteer. Believing this work to be too emotionally demanding and not having enough time for volunteering were the two most commonly given reasons for not wanting to become a hospice palliative care volunteer. Suggestions for future recruitment efforts are discussed.

Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers’ Attitudes, Opinions, Experiences, and Perceived Needs for Training Around Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)

“…Having said that, the demographic characteristics of the current study's sample mirror those found in HPC volunteer programs across the country. 21 Future research could assess the effectiveness of a training module designed to improve HPC volunteers' knowledge about and their skills and confidence in responding to patients or patients' family members/caregivers who want to have a conversation with them about MAiD. A nationwide survey of HPC volunteer programs could be conducted to see how many programs include information about MAiD as part of their volunteer training and how many programs have policies for volunteers regarding how to respond if they receive an inquiry about MAiD from a patient or patient's family member/caregiver.…”

What are the Emotional Experiences of Being a Volunteer in Palliative and End-of-Life Care Settings? A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis

“…"The biggest reward is in the heart…we get as much, or more, out of helping them as they get from us .." (36) (p.1534) "The volunteers…expressed personal satisfaction and reported that volunteering with the service had given them a sense of purpose and had been very rewarding". (37)…”