Some Common Problems Faced by Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers

Abstract

This paper examines 4 common problems that many hospice palliative care volunteers in Canada (and the United States) encounter, namely, being underutilized, being placed with a patient too late in the patient's illness, feeling undervalued by some members of the medical staff, and not being able to do more to help patients and their families. The implications of each of these problems are discussed along with suggestions for overcoming them. Finally, some ideas for future research are proposed.

Volunteer Satisfaction and Program Evaluation at a Pediatric Hospice

“…This observation is not unique and has been reported elsewhere. 2,8,18 One comment made was ''on rare occasions, members of the care team appear unappreciative of the time donated by the volunteers.'' Volunteers should be made to feel that their contributions are as important as those of paid hospice staff.…”

“…Volunteers appear more satisfied if they feel they are able to make a difference in the patient's life. 17,18 Volunteers in our survey most valued the reward, satisfaction, fulfillment, and personal growth from their work at the hospice. This finding corresponds to that found by Field and colleagues who reported that volunteers commonly rated their work to be rewarding/satisfying/fulfilling.…”

Imagine You Are Dying: Would You Be Interested in Having a Hospice Palliative Care Volunteer?

“…. ''); (7) to relieve stress (eg, ''Just to help relieve the stress''); (8) to help me stay at home (eg, ''If it would help me to stay in my home [vs. hospital] it would be of personal and financial benefit''); (9) a desire to not burden family members (eg, ''I wouldn't want to be a burden to my loved ones''); (10) to have someone around who is not emotionally involved (eg, ''It would be nice to be able to talk with someone who is not with your family so they don't judge you or think they have all the answers''); (11) to support family members (eg, ''It may also provide support for family members who must cope with the change and pressures''); and (12) other. Table 2 shows the number of participants whose explanation fell into each of the categories.…”

Helsepersonells erfaringer og tanker om bruk av frivillige i palliativ omsorg

“…Videre viste funnene at en instans, for eksempel en koordinator, var sentral og nødvendig i forhold til opplaering og oppfølging av de frivillige. Dette støttes også av Morris et al (2012) og Claxton-Oldfield og Claxton-Oldfield (2008). En gjennomtenkt og god organisering av det frivillige arbeidet og avklaring av hvem som skal koordinere samarbeidet mellom kommunen og frivillige, er også en av konklusjonene i rapporten fra Ressurssenter for omstilling i kommunene (RO) (2015).…”

“…Faktorer som god opplaering og støtte til den frivillige, er av betydning (Morris, Wilmot, Hill, Ockenden, og Payne 2012; Solbjør, Ljunggren og Hestvik Kleiven 2014). En koordinator kan bidra med undervisning til de frivillige og har derfor en sentral rolle (Claxton-Oldfield og Claxton-Oldfield 2008). Aktuelle undervisningstema kan vaere kommunikasjon og etikk (Morris et al 2012).…”