Who are good home-based care volunteers?

Aim: The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of volunteers who remained active in the home-based care project located in Tzaneen (Limpopo Province) and thereby assist the project leaders to improve the recruitment and quality of the service in the future. Methodology: Structured questionnaires were completed with all the available volunteers trained during 1999. The questionnaires were quantitatively analysed manually. Results: Ninety-six (96) people attended the introductory phase of the home-based care course during 1999. Seventy-one (71) were volunteers and 25 were people living with HIV. Forty-six (46) of the participants completed the questionnaires (44 volunteers plus two people living with HIV working as volunteers). Twenty-seven (27) volunteers could not be traced, as they were no longer active in the project. The following factors were associated with active volunteers: 1. Married 2. Female 3. >30 years of age 4. Breadwinners themselves or have a husband/spouse who is the breadwinner. Conclusions: Presently, most of the active volunteers are married, female, older than 30 and are the breadwinner themselves or have a husband who is the breadwinner. Key words: Home-based care, volunteers, Aids, characteristics For full text, click here: SA Fam Pract 2004; 46(2) : 29-3