Palliative-care volunteers: a social portrait from a student survey in the Sverdlovsk region

Introduction. Providing the necessary assistance to palliative patients and their relatives is one of the urgent tasks of Russian healthcare, given the size of this group — the number of terminally ill patients potentially in need of palliative care was at least 1.7 million people in the Russian Federation in 2023. Malignancies — 60–80 % of which involve the respiratory system — account for most palliative-care cases. The shortage of staff in palliative-care services can be partly mitigated by involving volunteers. At the same time, the institution of palliative care itself is still in the process of formation, and it is important to record the motives of volunteers to improve the quality of care provided and manage this process.
Aim. To analyse the social portrait of palliative-care volunteers in the Sverdlovsk Region.
Materials and methods. During 2024, a survey of 107 students of the Sverdlovsk Regional Medical College was conducted.
Results. The overwhelming majority of those involved in volunteering were female students majoring in Nursing and General Medicine. According to respondents, volunteering ensures the development of communication skills, the ability to communicate and understand interlocutors, critical perception of professional mistakes, and also improves academic performance in practical training. The greatest influence on involvement in volunteer activities is provided by the opportunity to gain new experience, professional knowledge, skills and abilities, and an understanding of the benefits that volunteers bring to a sick person. The following contradictions in the perception of palliative volunteering are identified: a discrepancy between the development of communication skills and professional abilities of volunteers and the absence of significant personal changes in their lives; a contradiction between volunteers’ awareness of their usefulness and the acquisition of new experience, on the one hand, and a weak extrapolation of this experience to increased self-esteem and the ability to solve personal emotional problems, on the other; a discrepancy between gender stereotypes in society (care as a “women’s” job) and the need to attract volunteers of both sexes for palliative care.
Conclusion. The social portrait of a student volunteer in palliative care reflects a combination of professional orientation and value-emotional motives. Despite the difficulties, participation in volunteer activities contributes to the formation of competencies valued in medical practice and strengthens the social responsibility of young people. Systematic support from educational institutions, medical and public organizations is critical for the development of this practice. The data obtained provide an idea of the contradictions and prospects for the development of this group of volunteers in the context of developing relevant educational programs.

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