Author Identifier
Rosemary Saunders: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6213-4694
Francine Antoinette Ocampo: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8289-733X
Renée Graham: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8725-0296
Michelle Gay: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9870-4985
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Geriatric Nursing
Volume
61
First Page
185
Last Page
191
Publisher
Elsevier
School
Centre for Research in Aged Care / School of Nursing and Midwifery
RAS ID
77174
Abstract
Introduction: Volunteers play an important role in supporting patients in hospitals, especially older adult patients who may have increased care needs. This systematic scoping review aimed to synthesise evidence related to qualitative evaluations of hospital-based therapeutically oriented volunteer programs for older patients from the perspective of clinicians (nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals), and stakeholders (patients, families, and volunteers). Methods: Nine databases were searched from January 2002 to November 2022. Of the 549 articles identified, 15 were included in the final review. Results: The evidence demonstrated that clinicians, patients, families, and volunteers could all see the benefits of volunteer programs for hospitalised older adults. Conclusion: The benefits of volunteer support for older adults in hospital to patients, nurses, family members and volunteers outweighs the challenges. As volunteers provide support to older adult patients alongside nurses the incorporation of volunteers into care teams needs to be considered.
DOI
10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.11.005
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Saunders, R., Ocampo, F. A., Graham, R., Christiansen, A., Gay, M., & Seaman, K. (2025). Hospital volunteer programs for older people: A systematic scoping review. Geriatric Nursing, 61, 185-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.11.005