Volunteers as members of the home healthcare and hospice teams

Holding on to what you have got: keeping hospice palliative care volunteers volunteering

In all, 119 hospice palliative care volunteers from 3 community-based hospice programs completed the Volunteer Retention Questionnaire (VRQ), a 33-item survey designed for this study. The VRQ asks volunteers to rate the importance of each item to their decision to continue volunteering. The items that received the highest mean importance ratings included enjoying the work they do, feeling adequately prepared/trained to perform their role, and learning from their patients' experiences/listening to their patients' life stories. Being recognized (eg, pins for years of service or being profiled in the hospice newsletter), receiving phone calls/cards from their volunteer coordinator on special occasions, and being reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses were among the items that received the lowest mean importance ratings. Suggestions for improving volunteer retention are provided.

Should I stay or should I go: a study of hospice palliative care volunteer satisfaction and retention

Forty-one hospice palliative care volunteers (from 6 community- and 3 hospital-based programs) participated in informal group discussions regarding (1) what aspects of their work provide them with the most (and least) satisfaction; (2) why they continue to volunteer; and (3) why they might stop. In 5 of the 9 programs, volunteers said that feeling appreciated by the patients/families they support gave them great satisfaction. Boundary issues and/or role ambiguities were among the least satisfying aspects of their work, mentioned by volunteers in 4 programs. Volunteers in all 9 programs mentioned that they continue to volunteer because it makes a difference/helps others/meets a need in other people's lives. Among the reasons given for potentially stopping volunteering were a family crisis, burnout, old age, and other commitments.

Nurses' Perceptions of Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers

A total of 50 nurses (hospital and home care) responded to a survey designed to measure: (1) their attitudes toward, and knowledge of, hospice palliative care volunteers; (2) the types of tasks they felt it was appropriate for volunteers to perform; and (3) how valuable they felt different members of the hospice palliative care team are. In addition, they were asked to respond to some open-ended questions (eg, “Do you feel that it is appropriate for hospice palliative care volunteers to know patient medical information?”). The nurses' responses to the “Attitude/Knowledge” part of the survey revealed that they generally held positive attitudes toward volunteers. The majority of the nurses felt that it was appropriate for volunteers to perform most of the tasks listed, except for hands-on patient care. Nurses rated the value of nurses, family members, doctors, and pharmacists significantly higher than volunteers. Fifty-three percent of the nurses felt that volunteers should know patient medical information, and 77% thought that volunteers should have the opportunity to provide input regarding patient care. Also, 75% of the nurses felt that volunteers made their jobs easier, and 56% felt that volunteers should be included in team meetings. When asked to list the topics covered in a hospice palliative care volunteer training program, 73% of the nurses indicated that they were not sure or did not know what topics were covered, indicating a lack of knowledge regarding volunteer training.