Volunteers in Palliative Care - A Comparison of Seven European Countries: A Descriptive Study. 2015

Kathrin Woitha, and Jeroen Hasselaar, and Karen van Beek, and Lukas Radbruch, and Birgit Jaspers, and Yvonne Engels, and Kris Vissers
Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE In Europe, volunteers have an important role in the delivery of palliative care. As part of the EU co-funded Europall project, 4 aspects of volunteering in palliative care were studied for 7 European countries (Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain). These included (1) involvement of volunteers in palliative care, (2) organization of palliative care volunteering, (3) legal regulations concerning volunteering, and (4) education and training of palliative care volunteering. A literature search combined with an interview study. Information from the scientific literature, and country-specific policy documents were obtained and completed, along with data of consecutive semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of palliative care in the participating countries. RESULTS In all countries, volunteers appeared to be involved in palliative care, yet their involvement across health care settings differed per country. England, for example, has the highest number of volunteers whereas Spain has the lowest number. Volunteering is embedded in law and regulations in all participating countries except for England and the Netherlands. In all participating countries, training programs are available and volunteers are organized, both on a national and a regional level. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a descriptive overview of volunteer work in palliative care in 7 European countries, with a focus on the organizational aspects. Further research should concentrate on the roles and responsibilities of volunteers in the care for the terminally ill in different European health systems.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009426 Netherlands Country located in EUROPE. It is bordered by the NORTH SEA, BELGIUM, and GERMANY. Constituent areas are Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten, formerly included in the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Holland,Kingdom of the Netherlands
D010166 Palliative Care Care alleviating symptoms without curing the underlying disease. (Stedman, 25th ed) Palliative Treatment,Palliative Supportive Care,Palliative Surgery,Palliative Therapy,Surgery, Palliative,Therapy, Palliative,Care, Palliative,Palliative Treatments,Supportive Care, Palliative,Treatment, Palliative,Treatments, Palliative
D005060 Europe The continent north of AFRICA, west of ASIA and east of the ATLANTIC OCEAN. Northern Europe,Southern Europe,Western Europe
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000078329 Workforce The number of people working or available for work or service. Human Resources,Labor Supply,Manpower,Staffing,Womanpower,Human Resource,Labor Supplies,Manpowers,Staffings,Supply, Labor,Womanpowers,Workforces
D001530 Belgium A country in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands. The capital is Brussels.
D013030 Spain Country located between France on the northeast and Portugal on the west and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The capital is Madrid. Balearic Islands,Canary Islands
D014838 Volunteers Persons who donate their services. Voluntary Workers,Volunteer Personnel,Untrained Personnel,Volunteer Workers,Volunteerism,Personnel, Untrained,Personnel, Volunteer,Voluntary Worker,Volunteer,Volunteer Worker,Worker, Voluntary,Worker, Volunteer

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