Prohibit, Protect, or Adapt? The Changing Role of Volunteers in Palliative and Hospice Care Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Multinational Survey (Covpall)

Volunteers are common within palliative care services, and provide support that enhances care quality. The support they provided, and any role changes, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are unknown. The aim of this study is to understand volunteer deployment and activities with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of health policy and management 2022-10, Vol.11 (10), p.2146-2154
Main Authors: Walshe, Catherine, Garner, Ian, Dunleavy, Lesley, Preston, Nancy, Bradshaw, Andy, Cripps, Rachel L, Bajwah, Sabrina, Sleeman, Katherine E, Hocaoglu, Mevhibe, Maddocks, Matthew, Murtagh, Fliss Em, Oluyase, Adejoke O, Fraser, Lorna K, Higginson, Irene J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
covid-19
Original
palliative care
volunteers
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Summary:Volunteers are common within palliative care services, and provide support that enhances care quality. The support they provided, and any role changes, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are unknown. The aim of this study is 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. 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. 458 respondents: 277 UK, 85 rest of Europe, and 95 rest of the world. 68.5% indicated volunteer use pre-COVID-19 across a number of roles (from 458): direct patient facing support (58.7%), indirect support (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, (odds ratio [OR]=0.15, 95% CI=0.07-0.3,
ISSN:2322-5939
2322-5939
DOI:10.34172/ijhpm.2021.128