Volunteer Coordinator Research Articles

Promoting Resident and Family Councils: a pilot evaluation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the status and impact of a recently formed Resident and Family Council to determine whether the group was achieving the goals of improving long-term care facility relationships, enhancing communication and promoting positive change within the facility. Design/methodology/approach – The pilot evaluation was designed to develop recommendations for future sustainability, of the council, as well as providing wider lessons about the benefits and potential pitfalls of such groups. Data were gathered utilizing participatory qualitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine council members, representing all groups within the Resident and Family Council. Documents relating to the work of the council and observational field notes maintained during meetings were also analyzed. Findings – A number of themes and dynamics were identified relating to communication, collaboration and future sustainability. Practical implications – Recommendations for initiating Resident and Family Councils should include surveying interest within long-term care facilities, involving the facility ombudsmen or volunteer coordinator, and assessing resources within the community, such as volunteer organizations or partnering with local education organizations. Originality/value – This original research can serve as a template for establishing Resident and Family Councils within long-term care facilities.

Production Networks: Indian Cultural Production in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Goal and objectives of the dissertationGoalThe aim of this research is to examine the ways producer identity affects production practice and, ultimately, cultural representation in a diasporic context. More specifically, the research interrogates the manner in which diasporic and non-diasporic producers construct and manipulate production networks in the pursuit of successful events.ObjectivesThe objectives of this research are framed around a central research question: What are the processes and relationships that support the production of cultural events, with specific reference to events that are of interest to and/or produced by Auckland's Indian communities? This research is inherently interdisciplinary. It studies music and other performing arts events in industrial and nonindustrial contexts. It examines cultural variations resulting from the efforts of producers, who are private individuals, entrepreneurs, community groups, or government bodies, all operating within a context defined by one of Auckland's major diasporic communities.MethodologyThis ethnographic research draws from ethnomusicology, event management, social science and industry practice to achieve a multidisciplinary approach to this applied research project. Primary data was collected by conducting 12 formal in-depth interviews, as well as ongoing discussions with those interviewed and other members of the local Auckland community involved in Indian community arts production during 2010-2012. For this research, participant observation was possible through immersion in various production roles as event support, advisor and as volunteer coordinator, and as audience member across many event platforms. This combination of methods allowed interview findings and statistical data to be compared. Secondary data was collected to support the findings including; government documents comprising quantitative statistical information, qualitative data from ephemera, media, and literature focussing on media promotion and government policy documents. Also included is a detailed discussion of a new method that I have developed in the course of this study and I have applied throughout the case studies. There is also an explanation of an 18-month media snapshot developed to validate the findings through quantitative data. The events included in this study, took place between 1995 and 2012 and are chosen to provide a variety of concerts and festivals featuring Indian cultural content and promoted to Auckland's Indian communities by a range of producer identities. This informed the theoretical approach to Chapters 2 -5, which offer 18 case studies that form the core of the research.ResultsIn order to contrast and compare production practices, the case studies are divided by four different producer types: cultural organisations, government agencies, commercial producers and emerging producers. The findings have determined not only the nature of the events, but also their relevance to various stakeholders, including the audience, sponsors and the wider community. The role the producer plays within the wider community affects production practices, purpose and event goals. Four producer types were identified, and summations can be made on their differing sense of purpose and management styles. Community organisations play important role events in cultural transmission and community cohesion. The variety of community events is increased, reflecting the diversity and size of the growing population. Government agencies rely on government policies, political relationships and top-down management structures for the economic support to produce large cultural festivals. Commercial producers present high risk events, relying on large audiences and are driven by profit. New young migrants, challenging the other with their developed skills useful in the event industry, including DJing, marketing, IT experts and assess to the virtual world. …

A Survey of Hospice Volunteer Coordinators: Training Methods and Objectives of Current Hospice Volunteer Training Programs

Currently more than 5800 hospice organizations operate in the United States.1 Hospice organizations are required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to use volunteers for services provided to patients.2 Although CMS regulates the amount of hours hospice volunteers should provide, there are currently no national requirements for objectives of training.3 The purpose of this study was to gather information from a sample of hospices regarding volunteer coordinator background, current training for volunteers, importance of training objectives, and any comments regarding additional objectives. Representative state hospice organizations were contacted by e-mail requesting their participation and distribution of the survey throughout their member hospices. The survey asked demographical questions, along with ratings of training components based on perceived level of importance and time spent on each objective. A total of 90 surveys were received, and the response rate was undeterminable. Results showed the majority of hospices were nonprofit, had less than 100 currently trained volunteers, and maintained an average daily patient census of less than 50. Questions regarding training programs indicated that most use live lecture methods of approximately 19 hours or less in duration. Overall, responding hospice organizations agreed that all objectives surveyed were important in training volunteers. The small number of respondents to this survey makes generalization nationwide difficult, however it is a strong starting point for the development of further surveys on hospice volunteer training and achieving a standardized set of training objectives and delivery methods.

JTC MANAGEMENT IN DISASTER INFORMATION SYSTEM

Ponte Academic JournalDec 2016, Volume 72, Issue 12 JTC MANAGEMENT IN DISASTER INFORMATION SYSTEMAuthor(s): Septian Aji Permana ,Sucihatiningsih Dian Wisika Prajanti, Dewi Liesnoor SetyowatiJ. Ponte - Dec 2016 - Volume 72 - Issue 12 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2016.12.51 Abstract:This researchs purpose is to know Disaster Information System Management of Jogja Tanggap Cepat (JTC) in manage Merapi eruption information in Yogyakarta. Jogja Tanggap Cepat is society movement who concerned to the Merapi eruption at 2010. This research used qualitative approach to analyze JTC Disaster Information System. the informant of this research was Cangkringan society, the head of JTC, multimedia division, and JTC volunteer coordinator. Data collection technique was done by deep interview. The data collection is then analyzed by using descriptive analysis model. The research result is in the form JTC Disaster Information System concept. The research shows that JTC information and communication technology have potential to play an important role of Eruption disaster information to society. JTC information and communication technology used as channel to spread the information of the clues of Merapi eruption based on local wisdom. By this information, society can knows earlier the clues, so they can survive independently. Jogja Tanggap Cepat together with local government, Yogyakarta government, and supported by XL axiata built a program Java Semesta, the program based on ICT by using information and communication technology. Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password

The Nursing Salon Experience: A Tale of Hosting Conversations.

The table was set for a party of eight. A whole chicken roasted away in my crockpot, a pile of pesto pasta chilled in my fridge, and my freezer was stocked with a wide array of gourmet popsicles. I texted a friend to air out the butterflies in my stomach the hour before guests arrived for my first nursing salon. Her response helped my butterflies out of the cocoon. "You've so got this. You are marrying the things you are best at-hospitality, conversation, and action. This can only produce good things."And so it is . . . producing good things.Hosting salons in my home is giving me food for thought for my writing habit and blog, housed at http://www.thereflectivenurse.com. Someday, I would like to expand on the themes raised in conversation salons around my dining room table to create educational offerings for nurses to earn continuing education units. So many good things in life start with a conversation. As heralded on my website, Eric Utne's introduction to The Joy of Conversation: The Complete Guide to Salons describes salon gatherings as a potential turning point in American history today in which talking among ourselves can in fact be glamorous and evocative of 17th-Century Paris (Sandra, 1997). Glamour aside, connecting through live, intimate conversation is being proven once again to meet a basic human need to recognize each other's light.Here is some context on what inspired this adventure in hosting conversation salons. I was invited to my first nursing salon as a student nurse some ten years ago. Hosted by Marie Manthey, her salons always guaranteed the comforts of a warm welcome, a home-served meal, and a conversation circle that expanded my vision for my place in my profession. Praise for attending salons in Marie Manthey's home is well-documented, from past features in this journal to the word-of-mouth testimonials that have grown her modest idea into a phenomenon that has occurred for some 15 years, inspiring people like me to start something similar.At the turn of the year, I decided this was the year to host my first salon. A nurse since 2008-call it the seven-year itch? I felt ready for a new challenge and a new forum for reflecting on the job I do, and the horizons I have chased since becoming a nurse. Plus, I love any excuse to throw a dinner party.My work as a volunteer coordinator at a pediatric hospital exposed me to the many faces of nursing. A nurse who edited a series by this same title, The Many Faces of Nursing, for the nursing department newsletter invited me to a salon in Marie's home during my formative years as a nurse in the wings. Reading the stories of the many and varied ways one can be a nurse and meeting the many and varied professionals who came together to form the monthly circle in Marie's home exposed me to the breadth and depth of the calling that is nursing. Fast-forward a decade. Having answered my calling and feeling established in my work as a nurse, I decided the time was right to start a salon of my own. I am forever inspired by hearing how people found their way to answer whatever called them to their life's work, and my kitchen table is forever enhanced by hosting a platform for these stories to be told.My path in nursing has included work as a bedside nurse in pediatrics and family birth. …

OA8 Caring for the family caregiver: working with volunteers to implement and improve a service to enable family caregivers to maintain their own wellbeing.

Family caregivers suffer physically, mentally, and spiritually. Community volunteers play an important role in supporting patients at the end of life or former caregivers in bereavement. However, there are no research reports of volunteer services focused on maintaining the wellbeing of end-of-life caregivers. To have volunteers, a hired volunteer coordinator, health care providers, and researchers implement and formatively evaluate a volunteer service to enable family caregivers to maintain their well being while providing care and subsequent bereavement. This presentation will focus on the volunteers' roles with the project as both agents of change to the service and as support for the caregivers. A qualitative formative evaluation informed by Guba and Lincoln's Fourth Generation Evaluation (1989) participatory design was conducted. Data was collected through individual interviews, focus groups, participant observation during volunteer support meetings, and through volunteers' written reflections. Amongst the volunteers, volunteer coordinator, and principal investigator, there was mutual respect for and interest in learning about everyone's roles and experiences in the project. The experience was rewarding because they felt they helped the family caregiver and enjoyed developing and improving the service and working in a supportive team. Volunteers' challenges included being nervous for their first meeting with a caregiver, and frustration with some rules put in place to protect them (e.g. not helping the caregiver with direct care for the patient). Volunteers can be an effective part of the research team, while providing valuable support and encouragement for family caregivers to maintain their own wellbeing.

“She's just like me”: The Role of the Mentor with Vulnerable Mothers and their Infants

Mentoring Mums, a community-based pilot program, exemplifies a model of volunteer home visiting to vulnerable and socially isolated new mothers and their at-risk infants. An evaluation of the program found that positive changes for both mothers and their babies had been achieved, providing the rationale for exploration of elements that made the mentoring role effective. This article undertakes this exploration through the research question: What do mothers, mentors and workers contribute to the conceptualisation of the mentor role with vulnerable mothers and their infants? The article argues that the program's effectiveness resided in a mentor role that shared primary values of befriending and neighbourliness, rather than in mentors enacting a quasi-professional role. Conceptualisation of the mentor role is based in theory and practice, seeing mentors as straddling the formal world of service intervention and the informal world of kith and kin. It presents ‘befriending’ as part of building substitute networks around very isolated new mothers. The very significant problems experienced by these vulnerable mothers made necessary parallel involvement of a professional volunteer coordinator and ongoing case management. Mentoring did not replace professional involvement, but rather was distinguished as providing something different, but much needed for vulnerable new mothers and their babies.

P36 In Patient Unit (IPU) volunteer line management and expansion of volunteer roles and responsibilities

IntroductionIt was recognised, at the Douglas Macmillan Hospice (DMH), that there was a need to diversify the role of IPU volunteers to support the clinical services. Previous attempts to increase...

Perceived Barriers and Enablers to Referrals to Community-Based Hospice Palliative Care Volunteer Programs in Canada

Two separate studies were conducted to identify perceived barriers and enablers to referrals to community-based hospice palliative care volunteer programs in 2 Atlantic Canadian provinces. In study 1, a physician, home support nurse manager, social worker, and volunteer coordinator (VC) were interviewed. More barriers than enablers were identified. Based on these results and a review of the literature, a "Perceived Barriers and Enablers to Hospice Palliative Care Volunteer Referrals Questionnaire" (PBEQ) was developed. In study 2, a total of 10 VCs completed the PBEQ and (1) rated the extent to which they perceived 18 items to be barriers to referrals; (2) rated the extent to which they perceived 12 items to be enablers to referrals; and (3) described additional barriers and enablers. A Tips for Referrals sheet was created.

Election special: Romney, Obama on health policy

On November 6, Election Day, pharmacists and other American voters will be choosing between two starkly divergent visions for health care in this country. President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement was the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the controversial health care reform law that most Democrats believe is a step in the right direction. Republican challenger Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who oversaw a state health care reform law widely viewed as a model for ACA, has promised to repeal the federal health law if elected. Following are excerpts from this year's Republican and Democratic platforms that describe the party positions on health care reform, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Health care reform: Pharmacy's opportunity to move forward

Health care reform: Pharmacy's opportunity to move forward

Holding on to What You Have Got

In all, 119 hospice palliative care volunteers from 3 community-based hospice programs completed the Volunteer Retention Questionnaire (VRQ), a 33-item survey designed for this study. The VRQ asks volunteers to rate the importance of each item to their decision to continue volunteering. The items that received the highest mean importance ratings included enjoying the work they do, feeling adequately prepared/trained to perform their role, and learning from their patients' experiences/listening to their patients' life stories. Being recognized (eg, pins for years of service or being profiled in the hospice newsletter), receiving phone calls/cards from their volunteer coordinator on special occasions, and being reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses were among the items that received the lowest mean importance ratings. Suggestions for improving volunteer retention are provided.

Improving volunteer retention efforts in public library systems: how communication and inclusion impact female and male volunteers differently

Although volunteer levels are near all‐time highs, volunteer coordinators are increasingly spending more time on retention efforts. The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of organizational communication and inclusive behaviors on volunteers' intention to continue volunteering. Through a survey of 472 volunteers in three library systems, research revealed that two organizational communication theories can improve the effectiveness of volunteer coordinator efforts. Specifically, structural equation modeling revealed that social group inclusion and overall participation in organizational events were the strongest predictors of female volunteers' future intentions to volunteer whereas event participation, being included in the organization's information network, and participating in decision making were the strongest predictors for male volunteers. Relationship indicators successfully predicted which volunteers were most likely to continue volunteering. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Moving Beyond the “I” in Motivation

Much research has examined why volunteer tourists volunteer abroad. However, little work has explored (1) if and how destination and organization attributes motivate volunteers or (2) manager perceptions of volunteer motivations. We identified attributes that pulled conservation volunteer tourists to the country, organization, and volunteer project. We compared these motivations and reasons for volunteering abroad with manager and volunteer coordinator perceptions of volunteer motivations. To collect data, we engaged in participant observation and conducted interviews with 36 volunteer tourists, 2 managers, and 3 volunteer coordinators at an Ecuadorian conservation volunteer project. Volunteers listed a range of motivations for their choices (e.g., reserve mission, price). Managers and coordinators correctly identified some motivations for volunteering abroad and selecting the destination, organization, and project (e.g., travel, price). However, they mentioned fewer reasons than volunteers and overlooked several major factors, especially altruistic and project-specific reasons. We discuss implications for managers and organizations, tourism theory, and future research.

Home based volunteers – bridging the gap between respite visits

IntroductionThe project was conceived as a result of two observations. The hospice receives many applications from people keen to volunteer directly with children and young adults. Secondly the Care Team...

Hospice neighbours

Everyone needs good neighbours – developing a Hospice Neighbours SchemeIntroductionThis is an innovative, volunteer-led scheme created to help people (and their families) who are coming to the end of their...

Parsing Mrs. Brown's Hospice and SNF Care

Parsing Mrs. Brown's Hospice and SNF Care

How they Cope

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the coping techniques utilized by hospice volunteers. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 hospice volunteers who had at least 1 year of experience, working as a hospice volunteer with direct patient care. The interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed utilizing qualitative research methods. The results indicated the volunteers used problem-focused coping (seeking advice from members of the hospice interdisciplinary team), emotion-focused coping (talking with others, going to funerals), meaning making through appraisal (religious beliefs, downward comparison), and physical techniques (walking, deep breathing). The most significant coping mechanism utilized for the volunteer was talking with the volunteer coordinator. Implications for hospice volunteer coordinators are also discussed.

Volunteer Management of the Hi Seoul Festival

For the success of a festival, effective volunteer management is axiomatic. Given the dramatically increased size and quality of festivals and events in Korea over the past fifteen years, the importance of effective volunteer management has been overlooked among festival organizations in comparison to similar festivals in western countries. This paper provides a description and an assessment of the Hi Seoul Festival 2009 volunteer program based on an seven-step ideal process of an effective festival volunteer program with suggestions for the program development by reviewing organizational documents, and an interview with a staff member of the Hi Seoul Festival organization, and a survey pertinent to festival volunteers’ motivation. This study shows college students are more interested in volunteering at festivals in Korea with the primary motivation of developing relationships and gaining work experience. It also suggests that the Hi Seoul Festival organization should fully appreciate the importance of an effective volunteer program and the position and work of a volunteer coordinator.

Welcome from the Congress Volunteer Coordinator: Saturday, March 29, to Thursday, April 3, 2008

Welcome from the Congress Volunteer Coordinator: Saturday, March 29, to Thursday, April 3, 2008