Abstract
Volunteer contributions in residential care are viewed as an important way to meet older adults’ psychosocial needs in the context of strained resources and increasingly complex resident populations. The implications of this context for volunteering experiences are rarely considered. This paper presents findings from interviews with 18 volunteers and 9 facility representatives in one Canadian city. Volunteers believed they made a difference through filling care and human resource gaps, helping both residents and paid employees. Organizational regulations at times limited their abilities to help residents, connect with residents relationally, and their integration within care teams. Organizational expectations could also pose a challenge for volunteers’ autonomy, and some actively resisted a formal role. Interactions with residents with advanced dementia challenged volunteers’ perceptions of effectiveness, appreciation, and emotional connection. Implications are discussed in relation to the needs of paid employees and care recipients, as well as training, regulating, managing, and retaining residential care volunteers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball, M. M., Lepore, M. L., Perkins, M. M., Hollingsworth, C., & Sweatman, M. (2009). “they are the reasons I come to work”: the meaning of resident-staff relationships in assisted living. Journal of Aging Studies, 23, 37–47.
Coughlan, R., & Ward, L. (2007). Experiences of recently relocated residents of a long-term care facility in Ontario: assessing quality qualitatively. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44(1), 47–57.
Culpepper Richards, K., Beck, C., O’Sullivan, P. S., & Shue, V. M. (2005). Effect of individualized social activity on sleep in nursing home residents with dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53(9), 1510–1517.
Damianakis, T., Wagner, L. M., Bernstein, S., & Marziali, E. (2007). Volunteers’ experiences visiting the cognitive impaired in nursing homes: a friendly visiting program. Canadian Journal on Aging, 26(4), 343–356.
Davis, D. H. J. (2004). Dementia: sociological and philosophical constructions. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 369–378.
Gubrium, J. F., & Holstein, J. A. (2000). Analyzing interpretive practice. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (pp. 487–508). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Guirguis-Younger, M., Kelley, M.-L., & McKee, M. (2005). Professionalization of hospice volunteer practices: what are the implications? Palliative and Supportive Care, 3(2), 143–144.
Harper Ice, G. (2002). Daily life in a nursing home: has it changed in 25 years? Journal of Aging Studies, 16(4), 345–359.
Hustinx, L. (2010). Institutionally individualized volunteering: towards a late modern re-construction. Journal of Civil Society, 6(2), 165–179.
Leedahl, S., Chapin, R., & Little, T. D. (2015). Multilevel examination of facility characteristics, social integration, and health for older adults living in nursing homes. Journal of Gerontology Series B, 70(1), 111–122.
Manthorpe, J., Andrews, J., Agelink, M., Zegers, S., Cornes, M., Smith, M., & Watson, R. (2003). Volunteers in intermediate care: flexible friends? Journal of Integrated Care, 11(6), 31–39.
Martinson, M., & Minkler, M. (2006). Civic engagement and older adults: a critical perspective. The Gerontologist, 46(3), 318–324.
McGregor, M. J., Cohen, M., McGrail, K. M., Broemeling, A. M., Adler, R. N., Schulzer, M., Ronald, L., Cvitkovich, Y., & Beck, M. (2005). Staffing levels in not-for-profit and for-profit long term care facilities: does type of ownership matter? Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172(5), 645–649.
Mellow, M. (2011). Voluntary caregiving? Constraints and opportunities for hospital volunteers. In C. Benoit & H. Halgrímsdóttir (Eds.), Valuing care work: comparative perspectives (pp. 215–235). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Robinson, K. M., & Clemons, J. W. (1999). Respite care: volunteers as providers. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 37(1), 30–35.
Rozanova, J., Keating, N., & Eales, J. (2012). Unequal social engagement for older adults: constraints on choice. Canadian Journal on Aging, 31(1), 25–36.
Savishinsky, J. S. (1992). Intimacy, domesticity and pet therapy with the elderly: expectation and experience among nursing home volunteers. Social Science and Medicine, 34(2), 1325–1334.
Sévigny, A., Dumont, S., Cohen, S. R., & Frappier, A. (2010). Helping them live until they die: volunteer practices in palliative home care. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39(4), 734–752.
Steele, C., Rivera, T., Bernick, L., & Mortsensen, L. (2007). Insights regarding mealtime assistance for individuals in long-term care: lessons from a time of crisis. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 23(4), 319–329.
Thompson, E., & Wilson, L. (2001). The potential of older volunteers in long-term care. Generations, 25(1), 58–63.
Touhy, T. A. (2004). Dementia, personhood and nursing: learning from a nursing station. Nursing Science Quarterly, 17(1), 43–49.
van der Ploeg, E. S., Mbakile, T., Genovesi, S., & O’Connor, D. W. (2012). The potential of volunteers to implement non-pharmacologic interventions to reduce agitation associated with dementia in nursing home residents. International Psychogeriatrics, 24(11), 1790–1797.
Vourlekis, B. S., Gelfand, D. E., & Greene, R. B. (1996). Psychosocial needs and care in nursing homes: comparison of views of social workers and home administrators. The Gerontologist, 32(1), 113–119.
Watts, J. (2012). Working as a hospice volunteer. Illness, Crisis and Loss, 20(2), 101–117.
Wilson, S. A., & Daley, B. J. (1998). Attachment/detachment: forces influencing care of the dying in long-term care. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2(1), 21–34.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Ms. Mariah Baldwin, for interviewing and transcription assistance, and Ms. Nicole Leeson, for transcription assistance. We also appreciate the contributions of all study participants. This study was funded by a Fellowship Award from the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Laura Funk declares that she has no conflict of interest. Kerstin Roger declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Ethical Treatment of Experimental Subjects (Animal and Human)
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Funding
This study was funded by a fellowship for Dr. Funk from the Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba (no grant number applicable).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Funk, L.M., Roger, K.S. Implications of the Shifting Landscape of Residential Care for Volunteers’ Lived Experiences and Role Involvement. Ageing Int 42, 44–61 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-016-9277-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-016-9277-z