Virtual volunteers: the importance of restructuring medical volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pickell, Zachary; Gu, Kathleen; Williams, Aaron M.

doi:10.1136/medhum-2020-011956

Cited by 43 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The greater importance of this study is evident through the increasing call for palliative care services via telemedicine in the pandemic's wake, as well as for greater interinstitutional and cross-state collaboration and volunteerism. 10,15,27 While programs like the one described in this study can be utilized more regularly in order to match available palliative care physicians with specific hospitals or regions that have an increased need for palliative care services, close attention must be paid to improving coordination with on-the-ground staff, clarifying differences in institutional practices and culture, and providing emotional support resources. Lessons learned through this study provide important groundwork for future considerations when designing and implementing similar programs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives of Remote Volunteer Palliative Care Consultants During COVID: A Qualitative Study

Tong

Kapur

Fleet

et al. 2022

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives of Remote Volunteer Palliative Care Consultants During COVID: A Qualitative Study

Tong

Kapur

Fleet

et al. 2022

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

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“…(42) It is likely that volunteers themselves may have had the ability and capacity to produce the needed plans to enable new ways of working, if engaged and asked, although this may be difficult to do at speed and with competing priorities. Certainly, we know that some have argued for new roles for volunteers during the pandemic such as virtual volunteering (27, 28, 43). Some areas where volunteering is deeply embedded, such as in Kerala, have managed to emphasise community participation as part of their response to COVID, which includes supporting palliative care patients (44).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prohibit, protect, or adapt? The changing role of volunteers in palliative and hospice care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A multinational survey (CovPall)

Walshe

Garner

Dunleavy

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Volunteers are common within palliative care services, and provide support that enhances care quality. The support they provided, and any role changes, during the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown. Aims: To understand volunteer deployment and activities within palliative care services, and to identify what may affect any changes in volunteer service provision, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Multi-national online survey disseminated via key stakeholders to specialist palliative care services, completed by lead clinicians. Data collected on volunteer roles, deployment, and changes in volunteer engagement. Analysis included descriptive statistics, a multivariable logistic regression, and analysis of free-text comments using a content analysis approach. Results: 458 respondents: 277 UK, 85 rest of Europe, and 95 rest of the world. 68.5% indicated volunteer use pre-COVID-19. These were across a number of roles (from 458): direct patient/family facing support (58.7%), indirect support (e.g. driving) (52.0%), back office (48.5%) and fundraising (45.6%). 11% had volunteers with COVID-19. Of those responding to a question on change in volunteer deployment (328 of 458) most (256/328, 78%) indicated less or much less use of volunteers. Less use of volunteers was associated with being an in-patient hospice, (OR=0.15, 95%CI = 0.07-0.3 p<.001). This reduction in volunteers was felt to protect potentially vulnerable volunteers and with policy changes preventing volunteers from supporting services. However, adapting was also seen where new roles were created, or existing roles pivoted to provide virtual support. Discussion and conclusion: Volunteers were mostly prevented from supporting many forms of palliative care, particularly in in-patient hospices, which may have quality and safety implications given their previously central roles. Volunteer re-deployment plans are needed that take a more considered approach, using volunteers more flexibly to enhance care while ensuring safe working practices. Consideration needs to be given to widening the volunteer base away from those who may be considered to be most vulnerable to COVID-19

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“…Finally, a relatively new issue emerged from our factor analysis: the factor “volunteering”. Health care students internationally volunteered to assist in hospitals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing crucial aid to hospital functioning and patients’ care in healthcare systems [ 27 , 28 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Measure Knowledge of and Attitude toward COVID-19 among Nursing Students in Greece

et al. 2020

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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing students have had a key role in supporting the healthcare sector. They can join healthcare professionals in clinical practice or provide information to increase citizens’ levels of knowledge and their compliance with the restriction measures. The study aimed to develop and validate a tool to measure knowledge of and attitudes toward COVID-19 among nursing students in Greece. Methods: A questionnaire was developed through theoretical research and expert consultation. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 348 undergraduate nursing students of the Department of Nursing, Hellenic Mediterranean University, recruited by convenient sampling. Validity and reliability were analyzed. Results: The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure was 0.84, indicating that the sample size was adequate for factor analysis. In addition, the p-value for Bartlett’s test of sphericity was <0.001, denoting that the correlation matrix was suitable for factor analysis. The construct validity of the questionnaire was determined through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which revealed that 16 items lead to four factors: knowledge, attitude toward restriction measures, compliance with them, and volunteering. One of the key findings of this study was that participants preferred to receive information from valid sources rather than social media during the crucial period of the “infodemic”. Conclusions: The questionnaire was shown to have satisfying psychometric properties and, therefore, can be used as a tool in future research in the area of nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes, compliance, and volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Virtual volunteers: the importance of restructuring medical volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 43 publications

References 23 publications

Perspectives of Remote Volunteer Palliative Care Consultants During COVID: A Qualitative Study

Perspectives of Remote Volunteer Palliative Care Consultants During COVID: A Qualitative Study

Prohibit, protect, or adapt? The changing role of volunteers in palliative and hospice care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A multinational survey (CovPall)

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Measure Knowledge of and Attitude toward COVID-19 among Nursing Students in Greece

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