“From good hearted community members we get volunteers” – an exploratory study of palliative care volunteers across Africa

Volunteers play a significant role in supporting hospice and palliative care in Africa, but little is known about the types of volunteers, their motivations and roles in service delivery.

Palliative care experts from 30 African countries were invited to participate in an online survey, conducted in English and French, that consisted of 58 questions on: socio-demographics, the activities, motivation and coordination of volunteers, and an appraisal of recent developments in volunteering. The questionnaire was pre-tested in Uganda. Quantitative data was analysed descriptively with SPSS v22; answers on open-ended questions were analysed using content analysis.

Twenty-five respondents from 21 countries replied to the questionnaire. The typical volunteer was reported to be a female aged between 30 and 50 years. Volunteer roles included, among others: direct patient assistance, providing psychosocial / spiritual support, and assisting patients’ families. Respondents considered altruism, civic engagement and personal gain (for a professional career) as volunteers’ most significant motivational drivers. One in two respondents noted that recruiting volunteers is easy, and cooperation with the communities was often mentioned as helpful. Trainings mostly occurred before the first assignment, with topics covering the palliative care concept, care, psychosocial support and team work. Half of respondents described recent overall volunteering developments as positive, while the other half described problems primarily with financing and motivation. Most volunteers received transportation allowances or bicycles; some received monetary compensation.

The findings show a wide range of volunteering in palliative care. We identified volunteers as typically 30–50 years old, non-professional females, motivated by altruism, a sense of civic engagement and personal gain. Palliative care services benefit from volunteers who take on high workloads and are close to the patients. The main challenges for volunteer programmes are funding and the long-term motivation of volunteers.