TY - JOUR
T1 - Volunteers in an oncology support organization
T2 - Motivation, stress, and satisfactions
AU - Remmer, J.
AU - Edgar, L.
AU - Rapkin, B.
N1 - Funding Information:
The research was funded by the Hope & Cope Research Fund. The authors are grateful for their benefactor’s support and for the commitment of the volunteers, who continue to offer their wisdom and encouragement. They play a valued role in cancer survivorship.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Peer-led oncology support services are increasingly important as accessible and affordable adjuncts to medical care. Volunteers involved in these programs frequently have experienced cancer, either their own diagnosis or a family member's. This descriptive study explores the motivations, stress, and satisfaction of volunteers working in such a service. Using a framework developed by Omoto and Snyder, which identified three stages of the volunteer dynamic-the antecedents, experiences, and consequences-this study identified details about volunteers' motivations, their satisfactions, their relationship with the organization, and the effects of the work on them. Differences in motivations and stress were found between volunteers who had had a cancer diagnosis and those who had not. There was a high level of satisfaction and volunteer continuity, although the more veteran volunteers tended to be less satisfied. Key implications include the importance of a supportive work environment that satisfies motivations and attends to needs of the volunteer as well as the clientele. The authors offer suggestions for organizational structures that can promote volunteer continuity and thus effective provision of service.
AB - Peer-led oncology support services are increasingly important as accessible and affordable adjuncts to medical care. Volunteers involved in these programs frequently have experienced cancer, either their own diagnosis or a family member's. This descriptive study explores the motivations, stress, and satisfaction of volunteers working in such a service. Using a framework developed by Omoto and Snyder, which identified three stages of the volunteer dynamic-the antecedents, experiences, and consequences-this study identified details about volunteers' motivations, their satisfactions, their relationship with the organization, and the effects of the work on them. Differences in motivations and stress were found between volunteers who had had a cancer diagnosis and those who had not. There was a high level of satisfaction and volunteer continuity, although the more veteran volunteers tended to be less satisfied. Key implications include the importance of a supportive work environment that satisfies motivations and attends to needs of the volunteer as well as the clientele. The authors offer suggestions for organizational structures that can promote volunteer continuity and thus effective provision of service.
KW - Motivation
KW - Peer-led oncology support
KW - Satisfaction
KW - Volunteers
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U2 - 10.1300/J077v19n01_05
DO - 10.1300/J077v19n01_05
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035190622
SN - 0734-7332
VL - 19
SP - 63
EP - 83
JO - Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
JF - Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
IS - 1
ER -