TITLE:
Rural nurses’ perceptions of a volunteer program in an acute setting: Volunteers delivering person-centred care for patients with dementia and delirium
AUTHORS:
Kaye Ervin, Sharon Moore
KEYWORDS:
Acute Setting; Dementia; Person-Centred Care; Volunteers
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.4 No.1,
January
16,
2014
ABSTRACT: Community volunteers were recruited and trained to
deliver person-centred care to patients with dementia or delirium in an acute
hospital setting, in a small rural Australian hospital. The volunteer program
was grounded in action research methodology, and modelled on a previous
research project. As a form of evaluation, interviews were conducted with
nursing staff eight weeks after implementation of the volunteer program to
explore their opinions. Data were analysed through a collaborative process and
findings revealed strong benefits from the perspectives of the nursing staff. These benefits included overall improved patient care and improved time management
for nursing tasks.