Hospice-Palliative Care Volunteers: Why Families Like Them (Research, Video)

You’re a hospice-palliative care volunteer. You were drawn to serve patients and their families during  journeys of terminal illness. You do your best, always hoping you have fulfilled their needs. Best of all, many seem to appreciate your being a part of their lives.

What is it about hospice-palliative care volunteers that makes them appealing to families? Researchers at Mount Allison University in Canada asked this same question and went straight to family members for answers. A survey of 22 family members whose deceased loved ones had used the services of a hospice-palliative care volunteer reported these results in order of importance:

1)   Opportunity to take a much-needed break from the demands of caring for their loved one

2)   Emotional support

3)   Shared time with the volunteer

4)   Information provided by the volunteer

Family members were satisfied with volunteers and rated them highly. The majority of families (85%) rated their volunteers as well trained. In addition, family members (95%) did not feel that volunteers had invaded their privacy or patients’ privacy. Sounds like lots of volunteers are successful at fulfilling many patient and family needs through service. This video poem expresses the win-win experiences of many hospice-palliative care volunteers:

Frances Shani Parker, Author

"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”

“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

Nursing Home Compare Report Card Research and Nursing Home Tribute Video-1:53 mins.

The Nursing Home Compare report card, published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reports results of nursing home inspections that measure whether Medicare or Medicaid certified nursing homes meet minimum standards for a particular set of requirements. Do these report cards really impact improvements in nursing homes? A study by the University of California examined this by conducting a survey of over a thousand randomly selected nursing home administrators.

Survey results indicate that the report card does serve as an incentive to improve facilities. Most nursing homes reviewed their quality report card scores regularly and have made efforts to improve. Homes that were performing poorly were more likely to improve after the scores were published. The Nursing Home Compare report card seems to be serving a good purpose by encouraging nursing homes to improve.

Keep in mind that deficiencies that are not reported by the nursing homes are not reflected on the report card. Some feel that the reports should be more detailed. Results of inspections must be available onsite for public review. When looking for a nursing home, the report card should be used only as one part of the search. Several visitations to nursing homes and asking questions of concern are important before making decisions.

You can read more here about this study on the Nursing Home Compare report card.

This video titled “Nursing Home Heroes - a Tribute” celebrates the often unsung staff heroes in our nation’s nursing homes.

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

Nurses’ Perceptions of Hospice-Palliative Care Volunteers

What do you think surveyed nurses' perceptions would be about hospice-palliative care volunteers? The “American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care” reports results of such a survey:

1) Nurses attitudes and what they know about hospice-palliative care volunteers

As a hospice volunteer myself, I have found nurses in general to have positive feelings toward volunteers. Like nursing assistants, many nurses feel volunteers make their jobs easier. Survey results confirm this. However, nurses rated the value of nurses, family members, doctors, and pharmacists significantly higher than volunteers.

Regarding the training of volunteers, 73% of the nurses indicated that they were not sure or did not know what topics were covered, indicating a lack of knowledge about what volunteers are taught.

2) Tasks nurses felt volunteers should perform

The surveys revealed that 53% 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. In addition, 56% felt that volunteers should be included in team meetings.

Did these results surprise you or did you expect them? You can read more here about this survey on nurses' perceptions of hospice-palliative care volunteers.

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes"
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog