Volunteer-based Program Research Articles

Advancing Research Alongside Patient Partners: Next-Generation Best Practices for Effective Collaboration in Health Research.

Ovarian Cancer Canada's Patient Partners in Research (PPiR) is a national volunteer-based program that trains and connects individuals with lived ovarian cancer (OC) experience to diverse research opportunities, to maximize the clinical relevance and real-life impact of OC research in Canada. A steadily increasing demand for patient partners to be involved as research team members and decision-makers led us to co-develop with the PPiR team a series of "best practices" for researcher-patient partnerships. This framework formalizes our evolving approach to patient engagement and begins to address challenges that can arise in research settings focused on less commonly diagnosed yet significant and fatal diseases such as OC: (1) Start early. (2) Foster collaboration among the entire research team. (3) Establish expectations and communicate regularly. (4) Report impact of patient partner contributions. (5) Ensure adequate resources. While there are ongoing challenges associated with patient engagement that need to be addressed, data collected from an anonymous survey of Canadian OC researchers show a marked improvement in perceived benefits of patient engagement over time and validate the best practices presented herein. Developed in the context of OC research, these best practices can be adapted to a variety of health research settings with similar challenges.

Combating Loneliness in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from a Volunteer-Based Program in Greece.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the feeling of loneliness, especially among older adults. This study aims to investigate any association between COVID-19 cases in Greece and the number of Loneliness Helpline calls at the Friendship at Every Age program and to assess whether the interconnection part of the program, which interconnects older adults with volunteers, can combat loneliness/social isolation in older adults. This is a supportive, volunteer-based, social intervention program. A total of 4033 calls were collected from July 2020 to November 2022, in Greece. Older adults who participated in the interconnection part completed baseline (n = 275) and follow-up questionnaires (n = 168), including the UCLA Loneliness Scale. A time-series analysis revealed a positive association in the number of calls with COVID-19 cases (Incidence Rate Ratio per 100 new COVID-19 cases = 1.012; Confidence Interval (95% CI) [1.002, 1.022]). A significant decrease in the Loneliness Scale was observed at follow-up [difference = -0.85; 95% CI (-1.16, -0.54)], with similar results by sex, educational level, and area of living. Loneliness Helpline calls increased during COVID-19 outbreaks, while the interconnection part had a positive impact on older adults, reducing their feeling of loneliness. Similar initiatives are required to better address the needs of the ageing population during and after health crises.

Improving access to conservation detection dogs: identifying motivations and understanding satisfaction in volunteer handlers

Context The use of conservation detection dogs (CDDs) is an established, highly efficient means by which data on cryptic and low-density plant and animal species can be collected in a relatively cost-effective way. Nonetheless, the time and resource costs associated with purchasing, training, and maintaining CDDs can be prohibitive, particularly for smaller organisations seeking to contribute to environmental work. A volunteer-based model of CDD training and deployment could make highly skilled teams more accessible to such groups, but little is known about why volunteers might choose to participate in such a program or what factors might maintain their motivation. Aims We previously reported on the effectiveness of a volunteer-based model of CDD training that began with 19 dog-handler teams. In the current study, we identify owner-reported motivations for, and satisfaction with, engaging in this 3 year program. Methods We used a combination of quantitative data from established questionnaires and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews to explore functional motivational themes among volunteers. Key results We identified six functional motivational themes in participants. Overall, volunteers tended to be initially motivated by a desire to engage in a meaningful activity with their dog. Handlers often reported engaging in iterative goal-setting and attainment through successive project stages, a strengthening of the dog–owner relationship and a growing tendency to place more emphasis on environmental/conservation-related goals as the program developed. Conclusions Suitable volunteers and their pet dogs can be trained as skilled CDD-handler teams. Importantly, teams can continue to participate in a volunteer-based program and contribute to conservation efforts for up to 4 years or longer, if their motivations and goals of participation can be facilitated through participation. Implications This is important information as training volunteer CCDs requires a substantial investment in terms of time and other resources. Only by focusing on factors which foster an optimal recruitment strategy and then enhance program satisfaction and participant retention, are such programs likely to be cost-effective in the longer term.

An Integrative Review on the Feasibility and Acceptability of Delivering an Online Training and Mentoring Module to Volunteers Working in Community Organizations.

Background: Volunteer programs that support older persons can assist them in accessing healthcare in an efficient and effective manner. Community-based initiatives that train volunteers to support patients with advancing illness is an important advance for public health. As part of implementing an effective community-based volunteer-based program, volunteers need to be sufficiently trained. Online training could be an effective and safe way to provide education for volunteers in both initial training and/or continuing education throughout their involvement as a volunteer.Method: We conducted an integrative review that synthesized literature on online training programs for volunteers who support older adults. The review included both a search of existing research literature in six databases, and an online search of online training programs currently being delivered in Canada. The purpose of this review was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of community-based organizations adopting an online training format for their volunteers.Results: The database search identified 13,626 records, these went through abstract and full text screen resulting in a final 15 records. This was supplemented by 2 records identified from hand searching the references, for a total of 17 articles. In addition to identifying Volunteers Roles and Responsibilities; Elements of Training; and Evaluation of Feasibility and Acceptability; a thematic analysis of the 17 records identified the categories: (1) Feasibility Promoting Factors; (2) Barriers to Feasibility; (3) Acceptability Promoting Factors; and (4) Barriers to Acceptability. Six programs were also identified in the online search of online training programs. These programs informed our understanding of delivery of existing online volunteer training programs.Discussion: Findings suggested that feasibility and acceptability of online training were promoted by (a) topic relevant training for volunteers; (b) high engagement of volunteers to prevent attrition; (c) mentorship or leadership component. Challenges to online training included a high workload; time elapsed between training and its application; and client attitude toward volunteers. Future research on online volunteer training should consider how online delivery can be most effectively paced to support volunteers in completing training and the technical skills needed to complete the training and whether teaching these skills can be integrated into programs.

Rural Aging during COVID-19: A Case Study of Older Voluntarism

Abstract During large-scale crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the precarity of older people and older volunteers can become exacerbated, especially in under-serviced rural regions and small towns. To understand how the pandemic has affected “older voluntarism”, this article presents a case study of three volunteer-based programs in rural Ontario, Canada. Interviews with 34 volunteers and administrators reveal both challenging and growth-oriented experiences of volunteers and the programs during the first wave of COVID-19. The findings demonstrate the vulnerability and resiliency of older volunteers and the adaptability and uncertainty of programs that rely on older voluntarism, as the community and its older residents navigate pandemic-related changes. The article advances a framework for understanding the pandemic’s impacts on older voluntarism in relation to personal, program, and community dimensions of sustainable rural aging. Further, it explores ways that older volunteers, organizations that depend on them, and communities experiencing population aging can persevere post-pandemic.

Living well with dementia: The role volunteer-based social recreational programs in promoting social connectedness of people with dementia and their caregivers

Objectives: This evaluation study was designed to examine the factors that contribute the promotion of social connectedness among people with dementia and their caregivers through social recreational programs; develop an understanding of volunteer’s impact on program success; and identify the barriers and facilitators to improve the volunteer-based programs to promote social connectedness. Method: A qualitative descriptive research design was used to explore the study participants’ lived experiences of social recreational programs from Alzheimer’s Society of Durham Region (ASDR) in Ontario, Canada. A final sample of 31 participants was recruited including people with dementia, informal caregivers, and community volunteers. Qualitative data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Emerging themes were derived from the qualitative descriptive data using thematic analysis. Results: The qualitative interviews highlighted the impact of social recreational programs on people with dementia, caregivers and volunteers in the promotion of social connectedness, as well as the examination of barriers and facilitators to identify opportunities for the future improvement of ASDR programs that would benefit the dementia populations. The study findings revealed that the project ‘Living Well with Dementia’ has been able to successfully foster social connectedness through its volunteer-led social recreational programs by promoting the physical and mental well-being of people with dementia and their caregivers. Conclusion: Our study findings underscored the critical roles of volunteers who contributed to the success of community-based programs. Future research is needed to identify the opportunities to address current gaps in services and to strengthen the social recreational programs using evidence-based practices and client-centered approaches. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at http://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2021.1950614.

Task-Shifting in Community Mental Health in Kerala: Tensions and Ruptures

ABSTRACT Based on an ethnography of community mental health programs run by two NGOs in Kerala which have associated themselves with preexisting, locally grown, community-based palliative clinics, this article explores how professional NGOs bring a new culture to volunteer-based programs. Professionalizing volunteers through task-shifting results in the transformation of their philosophy of community care, which constrains and narrows understandings of mental health care. The state, in alliance with psychiatric NGOs, front-stages development through aggressive task-shifting which we argue is a socio-politico-moral process, disrupting the shared consciousness between volunteers and their own communities with fatal consequences for their most vulnerable citizens.

A low cost, volunteer-based program to prepare children to undergo magnetic resonance imaging without sedation

ABSTRACTBackground: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a common medical procedure that often causes increased anxiety and distress in children due to the procedure conditions. For this reason, children are commonly sedated or anaesthetized during MRI, and this adds an additional risk.Objective: An MRI intervention practice was introduced in a local public hospital in central Italy to prepare children to undergo MRI without sedation. The program was initially set up by university staff and was carried out by a local organization after training.Materials and methods: The program was based on a bioecological approach and took place between 2008 and 2017 in a playroom, using role-play, socio-emotional support, teaching of coping skills, behavioral modeling and desensitization. Data were collected retrospectively with respect to age, gender, duration of scans and scan quality, which was assessed by a radiologist using a Likert scale.Results: Sixty-six children were included in the program (age 3–14 y; mean age 7.5 y; standard deviation, 2.55; 63% males). All of the children succeeded in completing the preparation, and 61 (92.4%) achieved a clinically diagnostic MRI without sedation. Image quality was in line with similar studies. There was no effect of exam duration on image quality and no correlation between age and image quality.Conclusion: The MRI preparation program enabled children to cope with the procedure without sedation. This program represents an example of the collaboration between educators, practitioners, and volunteers, jointly taking an active role in supporting children during a medical procedure.

Exploring the Urban–Rural Incarceration Divide: Drivers of Local Jail Incarceration Rates in the United States

ABSTRACTA large body of research has focused on understanding mass incarceration in the United States through the lens of federal and state prison growth. However, local jail systems, with 11 million admissions each year, have received less research attention despite their broad impact on communities. Preliminary analysis conducted by the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) uncovered geographical disparities in county jail incarceration rates. Contrary to assumptions that incarceration is an urban phenomenon, Vera discovered that, in recent decades, pretrial jail rates have declined or remained flat in many urban areas, whereas rates have grown in rural counties. In an effort to uncover factors contributing to continued jail growth in rural areas, Vera joined forces with Two Sigma’s Data Clinic, a volunteer-based program that leverages Two Sigma employees’ data science expertise. Determinants of local jail rates from 2000–2013 were examined using a generalized estimating equations (GEE) model to account for correlations within counties over time. Results revealed that county-level poverty, police expenditures, and spillover effects from other county and state authorities are significant predictors of local jail rates. Investigation of model residuals revealed clusters of counties where observed rates were much higher than expected conditioned upon county variables.

Implementation of a volunteer university student research assistant program in an emergency department: the nuts and bolts for success.

Prospective research studies often advance clinical practice in the emergency department (ED), but they can be costly and difficult to perform. In this report, we describe the implementation of a volunteer university student research assistant program that provides students exposure to medicine and clinical research while simultaneously increasing the capacity of an ED's research program. This type of program provides 15 hours per day of research assistant coverage for patient screening and enrolment for minimal risk research studies, and screening for higher risk studies. The latter is true without the added burden or costs of co-administering university course credit or pay for service, which are common features of most of these types of programs currently in operation. We have shown that our volunteer-based program is effective for an ED's research success as well as for its student participants. For other EDs interested in adopting similar programs, we provide the details on how to get such a program started and highlight the structure and non-monetary incentives that facilitate a program's ongoing success.

LEAP: A randomized–controlled trial of a lay-educator inpatient asthma education program

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of LEAP, a volunteer-based, inpatient asthma education program for families of inner-city children with asthma. Methods711 children ages 2–17 years admitted with status asthmaticus were randomized to receive usual care or usual care plus a supplemental education intervention. Both groups completed a baseline interview. Trained volunteer lay educators conducted individualized bedside education with the intervention group. Primary outcome was attendance at a post-hospitalization follow-up visit 7–10 days after discharge. Secondary outcomes included parent-reported asthma management behaviors, symptoms, and self-efficacy scores from a one month follow-up interview. ResultsPost-hospitalization asthma clinic attendance was poor (38%), with no difference between groups. Families randomized to the intervention group were more likely to report use of a controller (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3–4.2, p<0.01) and a valved-holding chamber (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.1–7.4, p=0.03), and were more likely to have an asthma action plan at follow up (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3–3.0, p<0.01). Asthma self-efficacy scores were significantly improved among those who received the intervention (p=0.04). ConclusionsInpatient asthma education by trained lay volunteers was associated with improved asthma management behaviors. Practice ImplicationsThis novel volunteer-based program could have widespread implications as a sustainable model for asthma education.

Development of a Hospital Reiki Training Program

Creating a healing and healthy environment for patients, families, and staff is an ongoing challenge. As part of our hospital's Integrative Care Program, a Reiki Volunteer Program has helped to foster a caring and healing environment, providing a means for patients, family, and staff to reduce pain and anxiety and improve their ability to relax and be present. Because direct care providers manage multiple and competing needs at any given time, they may not be available to provide Reiki when it is needed. This program demonstrates that a volunteer-based program can successfully support nurses in meeting patient, family, and staff demand for Reiki services.

Prospective Economic Evaluation of a Peer Support Intervention for Prevention of Postpartum Depression among High-Risk Women in Ontario, Canada

A previous multisite, randomized, controlled trial of peer support compared with usual care for prevention of postpartum depression demonstrated a reduction in depression symptoms at 12 weeks postbirth. Our objective was to determine the cost-effectiveness of this intervention. Prospectively planned economic evaluation alongside the clinical trial to determine the cost per case of postpartum depression averted, using individual patient data (n = 610) and societal perspective. All costs were expressed in 2011 Canadian dollars. The mean cost per woman was $4,497 in the peer support group and $3,380 in the usual care group (difference of $1,117, p < 0.0001). There was a 95% probability that the program would cost less than $20,196 per case of postpartum depression averted. Although this is a volunteer-based program, it results in a net cost to the health care system and society. However, this cost is within the range for other accepted interventions for this population.

Engaging Older Adult Volunteers in National Service

Volunteer-based programs are increasingly designed as interventions to affect the volunteers and the beneficiaries of the volunteers' activities. To achieve the intended impacts for both, programs need to leverage the volunteers' engagement by meeting their expectations, retaining them, and maximizing their perceptions of benefits. Programmatic features that may increase volunteer engagement include supervision, flexibility, assistance, training, recognition, and stipend support. Using longitudinal data from a study of older adult volunteers in Experience Corps (N = 208), the present study tested the facilitative effects of these features on volunteer engagement. Regression results indicated that positive perceptions of supervision and assistance predicted exceeded expectations, whereas supervision, flexibility, and recognition predicted retention and benefits. Stipend receipt also predicted benefits. Results indicated that these facilitation measures are conceptually and empirically similar and have an overall positive impact on volunteer engagement outcomes when treated additively. In the context of the study's implications, findings suggest that volunteer management “basics” facilitate volunteer engagement among the sample of older adult volunteers, with implications for practice and future research.

Volunteerism and Social Capital in Policy Implementation

Summary We assess the link between a program's volunteer support and state social capital in the case of the joint implementation of the federal Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman Program by state and federal authorities. This program, which is designed to prevent elder abuse and ensure quality care in long-term facilities, is implemented at the state and local levels and relies heavily on volunteer staff. First, we find that volunteerism is vital to the efficacy of the program's monitoring and investigative functions. Second, we find that volunteerism in this program is tied to broader level conditions of a state's social capital. Last, we discuss the implications of our findings for volunteer-based programs devolved to the states.

Volunteer-based universal newborn hearing screening program

Objective: To evaluate efficacy and costs of a volunteer-based universal newborn hearing screening program. Methods: The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford newborn hearing screening program database was reviewed. Results and costs of the hearing screens were analyzed. Results: Hearing screens were performed on 5771 newborns treated in the well-baby nursery and nine infants from this population were identified with hearing loss, seven of whom had no risks factors for hearing loss. Using volunteers to perform the first-line screen with the automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) technology, 91% of infants registered for screening were evaluated prior to discharge. An additional 4% of infants were screened as outpatients. If an infant failed the AABR on two occasions, he or she was rescreened with the AABR or transient evoked otoacoustic emissions by a licensed audiologist, often while the infant was still in the hospital. Using this algorithm, 5% of infants tested in the well-baby nursery needed additional follow-up as an outpatient. Cost analysis of this volunteer-based program reveals a per/baby screening cost of $27.41. Conclusions: A volunteer-based hearing screening program is a viable option for hearing screening in well-baby nurseries but does not result in significant cost savings during the first 2 years of the program.

Adults who learn differently: Help through a volunteer literacy program

In adult literacy programs today, well-intentioned but inadequately prepared volunteer tutors are being matched with learning disabled adult students without the benefit of receiving training from experts in the field of language/learning disabilities. The collaboration of adult literacy providers and learning specialists is obviously the most resourceful, yet most untried, solution to a problem that is plaguing volunteer-based programs across the country: meeting the needs of learning disabled adults. One adult literacy program—READ/San Diego of the San Diego Public Library—recognized that its volunteer tutors needed training in special instructional methods to teach adults who evidence learning disabilities. Accordingly, the program’s administrator obtained the services of specialists to develop a learning disabilities tutor-training module. This article (1) presents an overview of preservice volunteer training at READ/San Diego; (2) discusses informal assessment procedures that help identify possible language/learning disabilities in adults and provide valuable information for instructional planning; and (3) describes selected multisensory teaching techniques designed especially for adults who “learn differently.”