The buddy volunteer commitment in AIDS care

Volunteers in a peer support project for caregivers: What motivates them?

in recent years, human service agencies have attempted to recruit volunteers from the community at risk to provide emotional and instrumental support to other individuals experiencing the same condition or problem. Programs that assistfamily caregivers or relatives with Alzheimer's disease are on the forefront of using such volunteers, who have themselves been caregivers, as a method of helping to meet family members' needs. This article addresses the question: Why do these individuals choose to volunteer? As an alternative to previous conceptualizations of volunteer motivation, we suggest that identification is a major motivating factor We then present qualitative and quantitative data on volunteer motivation from the 'Peer Support Project'-a friendly visitor' support intervention for family caregivers to persons with Alzheimer's disease. in addition, we discuss the implications of the results for recruiting volunteers in AD caregiver support programs.

Community-based service use by people with AIDS: the relevance of informal caregivers

This paper reports on community-based service use by persons with AIDS or disabling HIV (PWAs) who have an informal caregiver, with specific focus on four categories of service: nursing care; practical help; psychological services; and help with the management of personal affairs. Data are drawn from a large-scale community-based survey of caregivers in San Francisco and Los Angeles (n = 642). Caregivers report that PWAs make substantial use of community-based support: 85% use at least one service; half or more use psychological services (51%) and practical help (61%). Multivariate logistic regression models fit for each of the four categories of service use include bothPWA and caregiver characteristics as determinants, applying the widely recognized Andersen model. Our analytic models best fit nursing care and practical help outcomes and portray the complexity inherent in Andersen's framework. Correlates of service use vary by service type, illustrating the need to further study the fullest possible array of community-based services. Alongside traits of the PWA, caregiver characteristics are found to be important determinants of PWA service use, highlighting the relevance of informal caregiving to the larger system of AIDS care.

Strategies to Improve Recruitment of Male Volunteers in Nonprofit Agencies

An increase in requests for volunteer services compounded by waning numbers of volunteers is a challenge to nonprofit organizations that are faced with the daunting task of recruiting and maintaining a large volunteer pool. This study explores alternate volunteer sources and suggests methods to be taken into account when recruiting male volunteers in various settings.

Designing a sequentially randomized study with adherence enhancing interventions for diabetes patients

Adaptive treatment strategies can change treatment prescription over time in response to intermediate outcomes. They are the natural choice for treating chronic diseases or for prevention, since the condition of subjects tends to change over the long term. Similarly, flexible intervention strategies are vital for generating or sustaining better adherence in long term treatment settings. When a cost-efficient first-line treatment is available, for instance, good adherence is expected to help delay or avoid second-line treatment.Sequentially randomized trials enable unbiased evaluation of how to best adapt adherence supporting interventions to a history of outcomes and adherence with the goal to optimize future treatment response. In this paper we propose and study different sequential designs targeting cost-efficient control of type II diabetes under first-line treatment through two different classes of adherence support: by (bio)technical and by behavioural means. We study their respective and joint impact first through double factorial adaptive designs, where interventions are triggered by an elevated risk of current treatment failure predicted by poor surrogate response.We develop the double factorial design and several derived designs that are more cost-efficient in the context of managed care of diabetes patients. We evaluate the marginal responses over time to different adaptive treatment strategies by means of doubly robust estimators. We consider sample sizes needed to thus detect realistic and worthwhile effects and discuss the relative practical and theoretical merits of the separate designs.

Latinos' community involvement in HIV/AIDS: organizational and individual perspectives on volunteering

Community involvement (e.g., volunteerism, activism) in HIV/AIDS may be an effective prevention strategy. Through involvement in HIV/AIDS-related organizations, individuals may develop a positive sense of themselves, maintain HIV preventive behaviors, and create community change. In this paper we examine the types of activities, motives, consequences, and deterrents to community involvement among Latino gay men using both community organizations' and Latino gay men's perspectives. Data come from an exploratory study in Chicago. It included telephone interviews with HIV/AIDS organizations (N = 62) and in-depth interviews with Latino gay men (n = 6 volunteers; n = 7 no volunteers). We found that organizations have few Latino volunteers and that the deterrents to involvement are stigma of HIV/AIDS and homosexuality, racism, and apathy. Among the positive consequences, we found an increase in self-esteem, sense of empowerment, and safer sex behaviors.

The psychological well-being of renal peer support volunteers

AIM OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of renal peer support volunteers (PSVs) and explore the effects on their psychological well-being from helping others.

BACKGROUND

Dialysis patients, transplant patients and family members who become renal PSVs receive special training in empathy, listening, self-awareness and problem solving. The trained renal PSVs offer a unique service to others struggling to learn to live with renal failure because they have faced the same struggles.

METHODS

This exploratory study utilized a longitudinal design. The first time for data collection was immediately after the volunteers had completed a Kidney Foundation of Canada training programme. Subsequent interviews were at time intervals of 4, 8 and 12 months after the first interview. Information on the psychological well-being of the volunteers was collected at each interview in two different ways: the 38-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI) and open-ended questions.

FINDINGS

Thirty-one PSVs completed all four interviews. The average age of the volunteers was 45 years and almost half had a university level of education. They identified themselves as belonging to 12 different ethno-cultural groups. Analysis of the quantitative data from the MHI indicated that the mental health of the PSVs stayed remarkably stable over time. Analysis of the qualitative data from the open-ended questions revealed four major themes which, taken together, showed notable increases in personal growth and well-being for the PSVs over time.

CONCLUSION

After participating in a training programme, renal PSVs maintained, and possibly improved, their own well-being by helping others with chronic renal failure.

Experiencing satisfaction and stress as an AIDS care provider. The AIDS caregiver scale

Health care workers (n = 342) completed items examining their emotional experiences working with HIV-positive patients. Factor analysis produced two subscales: Personal Satisfaction and Emotional Stress. A subset of these care workers (n = 251) claimed increased stress and depression after 6 months. In a second study, 91 volunteer AIDS caregivers ("buddies") completed the inventory and the Attitude Toward AIDS Scale. Satisfaction subscores were related to frequent contact and Stress subscores were related to length of illness of persons with AIDS. Satisfaction subscores were related negatively to prejudice towards PWA, social discrimination against PWA, and positively to pro-attitudes toward PWA. Stress subscores were related to social discrimination and punishment for PWA.

AIDS volunteers and their motivations: theoretical issues and practical concerns

Volunteers and volunteer organizations are critical elements in society's response to the HIV epidemic. This article reviews a model of the volunteer process that draws on psychological theory and methodology and incorporates concerns of individual volunteers, volunteer organizations, and society at large. An inventory for assessing the motivations of AIDS volunteers is introduced. The findings from a survey of volunteers working in AIDS organizations around the United States speak to their motivations, their choices of volunteer roles, and their decisions about quitting or continuing service. Based on these findings, a detailed set of recommendations for effective volunteer recruitment, assignment, and retention is offered.