Perceptions and services of hospice volunteers An evaluation of Wisconsin hospices

This study was conducted to determine how hospice volun-teers perceived the needs of the patients and caregivers they served and to identify what services the volunteer provided. This study also ex-plored families willingness to utilize volunteers, how the vol-unteers felt about various is-sues, and demographic and personal variables. A total of 185 questionnaires were distri-buted to four hospice sites in northeastern Wisconsin and 70 percent were returned. The hospice volunteers per-ceived the hospice patient as being afraid, lonely, over-whelmed, fatigued, concerned about the well-being of the caregiver and needing a chance to voice the concerns. The vol