Activities and challenges of volunteers in confrontation with COVID-19: A qualitative study in Iran

Irandoost, Seyed Fahim; Sedighi, Sardar; Hoseini, Ava Sadat; Ahmadi, Ahmad; Safari, Hossein; Azar, Farbod Ebadi Fard; Lebni, Javad Yoosefi

doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103314

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Moreover, our findings showed that besides mental problems, participants experienced physical exhaustion due to the challenging conditions of patient care, staff shortage, heavy workload and use of personal protective equipment for long hours. Consistent with this finding, a study reported that volunteers' experiences during the COVID‐19 pandemic differed from their previous experiences and were associated with physical fatigue and psychological discomfort 14 . Furthermore, in another study, it is stated that volunteers put themselves at risk because the extreme working conditions undermine mental and physical health 54 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Patient care provision in hospital settings was also among their most critical services during the COVID‐19 pandemic 13 . A previous study in Iran revealed that volunteer activities during the pandemic typically involved educating people about COVID‐19 and related health protocols, distributing protective measures, providing economic and psychological support and assisting local authorities in implementing quarantine measures 14 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18 In another study, the lack of sufficient training regarding the characteristics of COVID-19 and patients management was identified as a challenge that disrupts the volunteers' activities. 19 While previous studies have extensively explored the motivations, roles, and expectations of healthcare volunteers in Iran, 12,14,20,21 the challenges encountered by these healthcare volunteers have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Hence, the present study aims to shed light on the challenges encountered by volunteers in the context of taking care of patients with COVID-19, thereby making a valuable contribution to the field.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The challenges of voluntary care provision for hospitalized patients with COVID‐19: A qualitative study of the public volunteers' experiences

Karami,

Nikbakht Nasrabadi,

Torabizadeh

et al. 2024

Health Expectations

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IntroductionDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic, there was a remarkable increase in public volunteering for the care of hospitalized patients. They faced challenges during their voluntary care provision. This study aimed at exploring public volunteers' experiences of the challenges of the voluntary care provision to hospitalized patients with COVID‐19.MethodsA descriptive qualitative study with an inductive content analysis method was conducted, 2022–2023. Eighteen public volunteers providing care to hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 were purposefully selected among 10 hospitals, specialized in COVID‐19 care in Tehran and Shiraz, Iran. Data were collected over 7 months through in‐depth semistructured interviews and concurrently analyzed using conventional content analysis methods.FindingsThe challenges of voluntary care provision to hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 were illustrated in five main categories, each with two subcategories. The categories included structural challenges, interpersonal conflicts, financial constraints, covert participation and the deteriorating condition of care provision. The subcategories comprised lack of volunteer recruitment bases, ineffective organization of voluntary activities, pervasive distrust, heightened risk of clinical errors, conflicts between volunteer commitments and primary occupation, lack of financial support, lack of family support, isolation by friends, mental trauma and physical exhaustion.ConclusionPublic volunteers encounter diverse challenges while providing care to hospitalized patients with COVID‐19, which negatively impacts their motivation to serve. By addressing these challenges, we can create a more supportive environment for volunteers and enhance the quality of care provided to patients during public health emergencies. Identifying such challenges can assist healthcare managers and policymakers develop effective strategies to mitigate mounting difficulties and enhance volunteer services, thereby improving the overall quality of care provided to patients during public health crises.Patient ContributionsParticipants were identified and recruited after the study objectives were explained in person to the managers. The participants were approached and interviewed by one author. Participation was voluntary and the participants did not receive any financial compensation for their time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The challenges of voluntary care provision for hospitalized patients with COVID‐19: A qualitative study of the public volunteers' experiences

Karami,

Nikbakht Nasrabadi,

Torabizadeh

et al. 2024

Health Expectations

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“…Organizational studies highlight the crucial role of religious leaders in addressing the crisis within religious communities, providing strategic communication, promoting health and prevention, combating discrimination, offering religious and psychosocial support, and cooperating with political institutions (Essa-Hadad et al 2022; Marshall 2022; Wijesinghe et al 2022). Volunteers of different faiths also actively contributed to closing gaps in care at different levels (Irandoost et al 2022; Magadlah and Cnaan 2022; Mak and Fancourt 2022).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Impacts on Christian and Muslim Organizations in Germany: A Comparative Mixed Methods Study

Klie,

Unser,

Kortmann

et al. 2023

Review of Religious Research

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The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly influenced all areas of life and day-to-day operations. This paper studies the impact of the pandemic on Muslim and Christian organizations in Germany. The focus is activity implementation, time investment, staff changes, and working processes of full-time staff and volunteers. On the basis of a quantitative survey ( n = 454) and qualitative in-depth interviews with organizational representatives from 2021 to 2022 ( n = 31), we follow a convergent, parallel mixed methods design to understand pandemic-related work changes, key challenges, and crisis management. Our quantitative analysis reveals differences in the activity performances in Muslim and Christian organizations both before and since the pandemic outbreak. While the monthly time investment of volunteers dropped significantly in Christian organizations during the pandemic, the working time of employees increased significantly in Muslim organizations. The qualitative analysis reveals distinct impacts on work processes and workloads in the organizations. Differences are due to organizational legal statuses, internal conditions, and different activity foci. Overall, our study indicates that religious organizations and their staff are resilient and adaptable. It contributes comparative data on faith-based organizations in Germany and highlights their important role in civil society. For future research, we recommend cross-national comparative studies.

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“…Across the world, the COVID‐19 pandemic has seen the largest mass mobilisation of community helping in a generation, through formal volunteering schemes (e.g., the NHS responders programme in the UK), grass‐roots volunteering organisations (e.g., mutual aid groups), and through informal help in neighbourhoods and communities (Ekzayez et al, 2020; Drury & Tekin Guven, 2020; Irandoost et al, 2022; Mao, Fernandes‐Jesus, Ntontis, & Drury, 2021; Monbiot, 2020). In many countries, this mobilisation of community help‐giving was an essential part of the COVID‐19 response, providing local solutions to the challenges of shielding vulnerable people in their homes and freeing up front‐line staff for essential work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Helping in times of crisis: Examining the social identity and wellbeing impacts of volunteering duringCOVID‐19

Gray

Randell

Manning

et al. 2023

Community & Applied Soc Psy

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COVID‐19 produced the largest mass mobilisation of collective helping in a generation. Currently, the impact of this voluntary activity is not well understood, particularly for specific groups of volunteers (e.g., new vs. existing) and for different amounts of voluntary activity. Drawing on social psychological work on collective helping, and work from the Social Identity Approach to Health, we seek to address this gap through an analysis of survey data from 1,001 adults living in the south of England (333 men; 646 women; age range = 16–85) during the first UK lockdown. Measures included time spent volunteering pre‐/post‐COVID, community identification, subjective wellbeing, and volunteering intentions. Those who volunteered during COVID‐19 reported higher levels of community identification than those who did not. However, subjective wellbeing benefits were only found for those volunteers who maintained the same level of volunteering (in terms of time) pre‐and post‐COVID lockdown. New volunteers showed significantly lower levels of wellbeing when they were undertaking 5 or more hours of volunteering a week. Our findings provide unique insight into the variable relationship with wellbeing for different groups of volunteers, as well as how the experiences and functioning of ‘crisis’ volunteering are different from volunteering during ‘normal’ times.

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Activities and challenges of volunteers in confrontation with COVID-19: A qualitative study in Iran

Cited by 13 publications

References 32 publications

The challenges of voluntary care provision for hospitalized patients with COVID‐19: A qualitative study of the public volunteers' experiences

The challenges of voluntary care provision for hospitalized patients with COVID‐19: A qualitative study of the public volunteers' experiences

COVID-19 Impacts on Christian and Muslim Organizations in Germany: A Comparative Mixed Methods Study

Helping in times of crisis: Examining the social identity and wellbeing impacts of volunteering duringCOVID‐19

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