Attitude of Volunteers in a Community-Based Palliative Care Program in Puducherry: A Cross-sectional Descriptive Study

Objectives :Since 2015, volunteers are being trained in Palliative care at Puducherry to meet the increasing demand. Hence, this study aimed in assessing volunteer’s attitude towards palliative care which will help in promoting the quality of services. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was done among volunteers working for palliative care in and around Puducherry.All the 60 volunteers who were available during September-October 2018 were included in the study. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was administered to capture the socio-demography and attitude.Continuous variables were summarized as median (IQR) and categorical variables were expressed as frequency and percentages. Results: The study found 36.7 % of the volunteers were in the age group of 31-40 years, 76.7% were females and 78.3% married. About 10% were illiterate, and 35% were daily wage workers. In the domain, attitude towards the patient and the services provided, depression and grief in patients were the two areas that had unfavourable attitude. About 75% positive attitude toward self, however, majority felt caring for a dying person is depressing. The domain on communication with the patient revealed, though 91% felt they have an obligation to tell patients and family members when death is imminent, 78% felt it is discouraging to talk about death to a dying person. Conclusions : Presently volunteers are coming from only lower socio-economic strata of the society. There’s a need to have greater representation of all sections among volunteers. Enhanced training covering mental health aspects of self and patients needs to be provided. There is a need to advocate for providing more emphasis on community-based services than relying on hospital settings, including enhancing caregivers/family members’ capacities in delivering the care.