Volunteers in Palliative Care

Volunteers are key members of the hospice and palliative care team. In some countries, they are the only source of care provision for a person at a palliative stage of a disease. This chapter highlights both the importance of volunteers in these settings and the impact their contribution makes to care. The chapter covers the definitions of volunteering, the historical development of volunteering in hospice and palliative care, internal and external influences on the nature of volunteering, as well as research evaluation to document volunteer practice, an understanding of their distinct role in patient and family care, and assessment of their impact on patients and their families experience. The chapter also provides five case studies from volunteers across the world on their experiences in volunteering.