Voluntariado hospitalar: um estudo sobre a percepção dos profissionais de saúde

Abstract

ResumoFortemente incentivados como modo de atuação frente aos problemas sociais atuais, os serviços voluntários são freqüentemente referidos como enriquecedores para o indivíduo. Todavia, quando dirigidos à área da saúde, questiona-se o suporte técnico e emocional assegurado aos voluntários, porque sua ausência ou fraqueza pode suscitar sofrimento psíquico para o agente, ou prejudicar o atendimento e as relações voluntário-profissional. Para melhor compreender a natureza do voluntariado e o modo como é percebido pelos integrantes da equipe de saúde, a pesquisa foi realizada em duas etapas. Na primeira delas, 29 profissionais responderam a um questionário sobre a percepção destes serviços no hospital. Na segunda, 14 destes profissionais foram entrevistados. Os relatos foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo temática e ao software Alceste. Embora existam diferenças entre profissionais, a avaliação geral dos serviços voluntários foi positiva, sendo que alguns identificaram limitações. Discute-se a necessidade de maior capacitação e supervisão dos voluntários e apontam-se sugestões para futuras investigações.Palavras-chave: voluntariado; hospital; profissionais da saúde; percepção AbstractVolunteer work in hospitals: a study about health professional's perception. Strongly encouraged as a way to act on present-day social problems, volunteer services are usually reffered as enriching for the person involved. However, when related to health, volunteer's technical and emotional support is questionable, for its absence or weakness may induce psychological suffering in the agent or jeopardize the interventions provided and the volunteer-professional relations. In order to better understand the nature of volunteer work and the way it is perceived by health team members, a two-part study was carried out. At the first part, 29 professionals answered a questionnaire about their perception concerning the volunteer work in the hospital; at the second, 14 of them were interviewed. Data were submitted to a thematic content analysis and to the software Alceste. Although the results indicated differences among professionals, the general evaluation of the volunteer services was positive, in spite of the limitations identified by some team members. The need for more qualification and supervision of the volunteers is discussed, and suggestions for future investigations are pointed.

Humanização e voluntariado: estudo qualitativo em hospitais públicos

“…17 For those women who did not previously work out of their homes, the choice for volunteer work may be attributed to their search for a meaningful activity, after their children have reached adulthood. 5 Another reason could be related to the hospital demands for soft services, which focus on the comfort and emotional well-being of patients and the reduction in patient's and family's anxiety; 9 i.e., care activities, traditionally associated with women.…”

“…This can compromise the well-being provided by the volunteer activity 16,20 and lead to stress and burnout symptoms as well, because the hospital activity involves being in contact with disease and suffering. 9 On the other hand, the tendency of spending many hours away from home may be an indicator of diffi culties with spouses or family.…”

“…As shown in the study by Moniz & Araujo, 9 one type of motivation identifi ed was one's previous experience with a certain disease (one's own or a close person's).…”

“…In Brazil, the scientifi c literature about volunteering 8,9,13,[17][18][19] points out the importance of considering this theme in a broad perspective, avoiding negative or positive unanimities d and analyzing favorable and unfavorable aspects of the volunteer activity.…”

“…Research in the fi eld of health psychology 8,9 has been dedicated to the following: the identifi cation of the volunteer's profi le, their self-perception, and the health professional's perception of volunteers; the motivations for cooperative behavior; and the stress and burnout associated with volunteering.…”