0 avis
The role of volunteers supporting people with life-limiting illness at home
Article
Introduction: Hospices and end-of-life organisations caring for dying people rely on volunteers to provide social, psychological and spiritual support roles. Volunteering offers flexibility and informality, but the role needs to be clearly established to protect volunteer and client.
Methods: This service evaluation explored the role of volunteer support in end-of-life care. There were two parts to the evaluation: i) service evaluation of a local UK charity, which relies on volunteers to provide support to adults with serious and life-limiting illness in their own homes when they are discharged from hospital; and ii) external expert reference provided by 11 hospices and end-of-life care charities. Content analysis was used to identify key areas within the interviews.
Results: Typical volunteer roles included offering practical and emotional support to their clients and sometimes to other family members. Maintaining professional boundaries was one of the difficult aspects of the volunteers’ role. Paid staff valued the additional support provided by the volunteers but had concerns about them becoming too involved with clients. The hospices and end-of-life care charities confirmed that while they used their volunteers in numerous ways, these were generally within clinical settings and not clients’ homes.
Discussion: Volunteers can perform important roles in people’s homes, which can alleviate the pressure on paid staff. Their role epitomises the current drive for more compassionate community initiatives. However, within this drive there needs to be explicit safe practice expectations to protect both volunteer and client.
Voir la revue «EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE CARE, 25»
Autres numéros de la revue «EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE CARE»
Suggestions
Du même auteur
De la même série