A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY ON THE ALTRUISTIC MOTIVATION OF PALLIATIVE AND HEALTH CARE VOLUNTEERS
- QUEZON CITY FEU-NRMF 2009
- 31 PAGES
ABSTRACT: The act of volunteering is closely linked to the concept of altruism, in that both involve cooperative unselfish acts beneficial to others. This study aimed to obtain an understanding on what it means to be a volunteer for a hospice and palliative care group through a phenomenological approach. The research sought to answer the following questions: 1) What are the main reasons for joining the hospice/palliative care team? 2) What motivates the health care team to stay with the group? 3) What are the benefits/rewards they get out of joining such a group? Volunteers of Madre de Amor Hospice in Laguna, PGH PALCare, FEU-NRMF Department of Community and Family Medicine were selected as subjects. Subjects(volunteers) were selected by means of purpose sampling and were made to answer an open-ended questionnaire which aimed to elicit the following: reason and motivation for joining a hospice/palliative care group, what it means to be a volunteer, personal experiences that made a significant impact in their lives during their stay with the group, and their future plans. From the responses gathered, three areas of volunteerism were elicited: The first focused on why volunteers got involved with palliative and hospice care, the second revealed the meaningful experiences of each volunteer and also the common empathy that these volunteers feel towards the patients; the third underscored the commitment of the volunteers to such a cause. Reason for joining a palliative and hospice care group include (in order of frequency): 10 personal experience with a family member who were once under hospice care; 2) to be able to give spiritual guidance and 30 a desire to help others. Volunteers are motivated by: 1) their personal life mission, 2) the support they get from other group members (network of support), 3) religious belief, In terms of the rewards or benefits they get from joining a palliative care/hospice care group, virtually all the volunteers answered that 1) being able to help is a reward in itself, (self-fulfillment); and 2) joining a palliative.hospice care group can help in their personal and professional growth. For future studies, we recommend to: Expand the coverage of volunteer groups to be studied; and to focus on both hospital-based and home palliative care.