• Stephen Claxton-Oldfield, Natasha Gosselin, Kirsten Schmidt-Chamberlain, and Jane Claxton-Oldfield.
• Psychology Department, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. sclaxton@mta.ca
• Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2010 May 1;27(3):191-6.

AbstractA total of 22 family members, whose deceased loved ones had used the services of a hospice palliative care volunteer, responded to a brief survey designed to assess the importance of the different kinds of support offered to them (family members) by the volunteer, their impressions of the volunteers' personal qualities/characteristics, their general experiences with the volunteer, and their overall satisfaction with the volunteer services. The kind of support that received the highest importance rating from family members was the opportunity to take a much-needed break from the demands of caring for their loved one, closely followed by emotional support, the volunteer spending time with them, and the volunteer providing them with information. Family members rated volunteers highly on a list of qualities/characteristics that exemplify individuals who are effective in this role. In all, 85% of the family members felt that their volunteer was well trained and 95% did not feel that their or their loved one's privacy had been invaded by having a volunteer. Overall, family members were very satisfied with the volunteer support they received. Some limitations of the study are discussed.

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