title: Burden experienced by community health volunteers in Taiwan: a survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Volunteers in Taiwan complement the delivery of health services by paid health professionals. However, in doing so, community health volunteers experience burdens associated with their activities. The reasons for these burdens and degree to which they are experienced are explored in this paper. Our study adds to international research regarding the burden experienced by volunteers. This project is the first to assess how community health volunteers in Taiwan experience burden.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 20 item Burden on Community Health Volunteer (BCHV) instrument, specifically designed for this project, was administered to 435 volunteers attached to Community Health Promotion Development Centres in northern Taiwan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall burden experienced by volunteers is relatively low. However, a multivariate adjusted regression analysis revealed significant differences in volunteer burden depending on the number of people each volunteer served on average per week, as well as the volunteer's marital status and their perceptions about personal health. Volunteers who served many people and who perceived their own health as poor experienced a higher level of burden. Those who were a widow or a widower felt less burdened than others.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the study identify areas where burden is high and where strategies can be developed to reduce the level of burden experienced by community health volunteers in Taiwan. Community health volunteers in Taiwan complement the role of nurses and other health care providers so their retention is important to ongoing service delivery.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Midwifery & Nutrition, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia. yuehmei.gau@gmail.com
authors.forename: Yueh-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Gau
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Buettner
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Usher
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000523:psychology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013624:Taiwan; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology; D016526:Workload; D055815:Young Adult