title: Some common problems faced by hospice palliative care volunteers.
abstract: This paper examines 4 common problems that many hospice palliative care volunteers in Canada (and the United States) encounter, namely, being underutilized, being placed with a patient too late in the patient's illness, feeling undervalued by some members of the medical staff, and not being able to do more to help patients and their families. The implications of each of these problems are discussed along with suggestions for overcoming them. Finally, some ideas for future research are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Mount Allison University, Psychology Department, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. sclaxton@mta.ca
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Claxton-Oldfield
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Claxton-Oldfield
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002170:Canada; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D005544:Forecasting; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006379:Helping Behavior; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014481:United States; D014838:Volunteers / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*