Ethical issues for hospice volunteers.
Health care professionals usually receive professional education in ethics, but the half million hospice volunteers in the United States may receive only brief training that is limited to confidentiality and the volunteer role. The purpose of this study was to explore ethical issues hospice volunteers confront in their work. Interviews with 39 hospice volunteers were conducted, audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative methods. Prominent themes were dilemmas about gifts, patient care and family concerns, issues related to volunteer roles and boundaries, and issues surrounding suicide and hastening death. Suggestions for training include discussions of ethics after initial training once volunteers had confronted ethical issues, with special emphasis on strategies for negotiating their uneasy role positioned between health care professional and friend.
Berry
Patricia
P
College of Nursing, University of Utah, 10 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. patricia.berry@nurs.utah.edu
Planalp
Sally
S
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D037921:Gift Giving / Q000941:ethics; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000941:ethics* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D007400:Interprofessional Relations / Q000941:ethics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000941:ethics; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015206:Southwestern United States; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000941:ethics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014838:Volunteers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology