Effectiveness of a Holistic Capacity-Building Program for Volunteers in Community-Based End-of-Life Care

Abstract

Objective: Despite the importance of volunteers in end-of-life care (EoLC), ways to empower their engagement therein remain unclear. The aim of our study was to examine the effectiveness of a holistic capacity-building program for volunteers in community-based EoLC. Methods: Applicants completed a capacity-building program in four steps: motivational screening, core competence training, internships, and in-service supervision. Screening involved completing a self-administered risk assessment and being interviewed by a social worker, and a questionnaire was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of training at pretraining, posttraining, and 6-month follow-up. Results: Of 171 applicants, 88 completed core competence training after screening, and 53 continued volunteering for the 6 months that followed. Their competence in EoLC, awareness of self-care, and death work competence significantly improved after training and remained intact at 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: The four-phase capacity-building program effectively empowered volunteers to provide EoLC for elderly persons in their communities.

Civic engagement in serious illness, death, and loss: A systematic mixed-methods review

“…Most cited reasons were to address the complex needs of people in the community with serious illness and/or their caregivers and families, 30,32,42,43,48–50,56,57 to reduce inequality in access to quality palliative care, 32,34–37,48–51,58 and for research purposes 30,36,37,48–50,58 such as to examine a model of peer support 48–50 or to study ways to empower and build capacity for civic engagement in end-of-life care. 38,39…”

“…Target populations of the initiatives included healthcare providers, 27–29,52,53 all people in the community regardless of their health status, 42,43,54 or people in the community with a serious illness, their family or caregivers. 25,26,30–41,44–53,55–58 Some of the initiatives partially focused on people with a specific condition such as HIV and AIDS 31,32 or cancer. 36,37,40,41,48–50 Others partially focused on adolescents, 31 older people, 44–47 African-Americans, 48–50 Chinese-Americans, 52,53 bedridden people, 36,37 or cancer survivors.…”

“…Twelve out of 19 were developed from a community-academic partnership. 25–31,38,39,42–51,54,55 In eight of these initiatives, the community led the development and consulted or collaborated with a research team. 25–31,42–47,54,56,57 In the other four, the community was involved to a limited extent; researchers developed the initiative in consultation or collaboration with community members.…”

“…25–31,42–47,54,56,57 In the other four, the community was involved to a limited extent; researchers developed the initiative in consultation or collaboration with community members. 30,38,39,51,55 The other seven initiatives were entirely community-owned and were driven and developed by community organizations and/or governments without any input from research, 32,33,36,37,58 or by individual community members. 34,35,40,41,53…”

KOMUNIKASI KESEHATAN TENTANG KESEHATAN REPRODUKSI DAN SEKSUAL KOMPREHENSIF (Studi di Youth Center Pilar Jawa Tengah)

“…Penelitian yang dilakukan oleh VSO Nepal menyebutkan bahwa relawan harus menerima pelatihan tentang kemampuan memfasilitasi, bagaimana berbicara kesehatan reproduksi dan seksual kepada remaja, sistem peer education, dan isu kesehatan reproduksi yang sensitif, rahasia, dan tidak menghakimi sebelum melakukan program (Hacker, 2015). Penelitian lain tentang kapasitas relawan dilakukan pada isu End of Life Care (EoLC) yakni didapatkan hasil bahwa 4 tahap yang dapat dilakukan dalam program peningkatan kapasitas relawan, yakni skrining motivasi, pelatihan kompetensi dasar, magang, dan dalam pemantauan, secara efektif memberdayakan relawan dalam menyediakan EoLC untuk orang tua di komunitas mereka (Wang, Chan and Lou, 2020).…”