Humanization and volunteering: a qualitative study in public hospitals.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the profile of volunteers and their work process in hospital humanization.


METHODS
The following instruments were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview, applied to 26 volunteer coordinators and 26 volunteers, who belong to 25 hospitals in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, between 2008 and 2009. Interviews were analyzed according to thematic analysis principles.


RESULTS
Five main themes were identified: volunteer profile (age, sex, level of income); volunteer work organization (volunteer agreement, training); volunteer-hospital relationship (relationship with hospital management and employees); motivation (solidarity, previous experience with family members' or one's own diseases, personal satisfaction, conflict resolution) and benefits (individual, dual, collective); and humanization and volunteer activities (patient care, logistic support, emotional support, development of patients' abilities, leisure, organization of commemorative events).


CONCLUSIONS
In the activity developed by volunteers, there are positive aspects (such as the contribution to hospital humanization) and negative aspects (such as volunteers performing activities assigned to employees). Attention should be paid to the regulation of volunteer activities, especially patient care, and actions that value volunteer work in hospitals and volunteer integration into humanization work groups.
Nogueira-Martins
Maria Cezira Fantini
MC
Instituto de Saúde, Secretaria de Estado da Saúde, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. mcezira@isaude.sp.gov.br
Bersusa
Ana Aparecida Sanches
AA
Siqueira
Siomara Roberta
SR
D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006758:Hospital Volunteers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research