Palliative care volunteerism among college students in Canada

Abstract

The goal of Study 1 was to investigate whether young Canadian adults were interested in becoming involved in palliative care volunteer work. After reading a brief description of what volunteering in a palliative care environment typically involves, participants (undergraduate students) were asked to indicate whether they would be interested in this kind of volunteer experience and to provide a written explanation of their answer. Of the 105 participating students, only 39 (37.1 percent) expressed an interest in volunteering, while 66 (62.9 percent) were not interested. Not surprisingly, the results revealed that significantly more females than males were interested in palliative care volunteer work (45.9 percent and 25.0 percent, respectively). The most common reason students gave for wanting to become a palliative care volunteer was to help others; the reason given most often for not wanting to volunteer was that it would be too emotionally demanding. It is important to note that prior to taking part in this study the majority of the participating students (75.9 percent) did not know what palliative care was. The goal of Study 2 was to investigate undergraduate students' interest in volunteering in a nursing home, in a classroom, and at a food bank. Of the 111 participating students, 74 (66.7 percent) expressed an interest in volunteering at a food bank and in a nursing home, and 89 (80.2 percent) were interested in becoming a classroom volunteer. Together, the results of Studies 1 and 2 support the view that young people in Canada (especially males) are not interested in becoming involved in the care of dying persons. However, the results also indicate that they are very interested in volunteering with other populations (e.g., the elderly, school children) and in other settings (e.g., food bank).

How to Attract More Males to Community-Based Hospice Palliative Care Volunteer Programs

“…Every fourth middle-aged or older male shopper was approached by a researcher and asked whether he could spare a few minutes to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire used in this study was similar to the one employed by ClaxtonOldfield et al 8 It contained a brief description of the kinds of tasks hospice palliative care volunteers typically perform, constructed, in part, from Kastenbaum's 14 description of what volunteers do. It read as follows:…”

“…The most common reason students gave for wanting to become a palliative care volunteer was ''the desire to help others''; the most common reason given for not wanting to do this kind of volunteer work was that it would be ''too emotionally demanding or draining'' (eg, many of the students felt that they would not have the strength emotionally to be with someone they knew was going to die). Although students of Claxton-Oldfield et al 8 were not interested in working with the dying, the results of study 2 revealed that many young people are interested in volunteering in a food bank, classroom, or nursing home. On a side note, it seems that when young people do become involved in palliative care, they find the experience very rewarding.…”

“…8 In study 1, ClaxtonOldfield et al 8 asked undergraduate students to read a brief description about the kinds of things that palliative care volunteers are known to do. After reading the description, the students were asked to indicate whether or not they would be interested in this kind of volunteer experience and to provide a written explanation for their answer.…”

Motivations of German Hospice Volunteers

“…8,29,36,38,39 Across the 2 age-groups, the 4 most salient motives for volunteering were values, understanding, social bonding, and enhancement. Weak support was found for some assumptions regarding the socioemotional selectivity theory, 40 which suggests that as individuals age, they experience a shift in priorities of their social goals emphasizing goals related to emotional gratification, while social goals related to knowledge seeking become less important.…”

Narrative Accounts of Volunteers in Palliative Care Settings

“…5 Those who choose this form of participation do so deliberately, based on a strong desire to help in this particular domain of service. 6,7 The presence of volunteers in palliative care assists not only patients and their families but also the staff.…”