Can trained volunteers provide psychosocial support to patients undergoing radiotherapy? The perspective of patients and volunteers

Abstract

PurposeClinic-based psychosocial interventions, including volunteer-based ones, may be a cost-efficient and acceptable means of integrating psychosocial support into cancer care during radiotherapy. The present study evaluated a new psychosocial volunteer support program in a large radiotherapy clinic. Methods and MaterialsPatients were asked to complete a demographic and satisfaction with care questionnaire. Clinic volunteers were asked to report their interactions with patients on shift logs. ResultsOf the 182 participating patients, 93 (51%) recalled meeting a volunteer in the clinic, with the 2 most common support types provided being the following: “listening and caring,” and “information on services.” Analysis of 224 volunteers' shift logs indicated that almost all interactions (94%) were initiated by the volunteers, and almost half (47%) involved the patients' companions in the clinic. The most common support type documented was “information and navigation” (71%), followed by “emotional” (47%), “diversional” (21%), and “physical/practical” (17%) support. ConclusionsTrained volunteers can effectively provide clinic-based psychosocial support and information to a high proportion of radiotherapy patients. These findings demonstrate that volunteer support is a feasible means of meeting the psychosocial needs of patients with cancer attending outpatient radiotherapy clinics, who may not require or want professional psychosocial support.