Volunteers do the fun stuff –- Experiences from volunteer‒professional caregiver cooperation in nursing homes

Background: The number of volunteers in Danish nursing homes is increasing. Volunteers cooperate with professional caregivers to improve the residents’ well-being and quality of life as part of their palliative care. The Danish government encourages this volunteer involvement, which is partly intended to alleviate the resource constraints in municipal healthcare. Although volunteer roles are defined as complementary to the professional caregiver role, volunteer‒professional caregiver cooperation can be challenging. Aim: This article explores the challenges experienced in volunteer‒professional caregiver cooperation in the general palliative care provided in nursing homes. Method: A qualitative design and a sociological phenomenological approach were adopted to answer the research question: What is experienced as challenging in the cooperation between volunteer and professional caregivers in the provision of care for elderly residents in everyday life in a nursing home? And what meanings and understandings are associated with these experiences? Data were collected by combining participant observations and interviews, and thematic analysis structured the analytical process. Findings: The analysis of 115 hours of participant observations in two Danish nursing homes with 50‒60 volunteers involved and 16 interviews (eight with volunteers, eight with professional caregivers) identified two overall themes: ‘Symbolic indications of them and us’ (two sub-themes) and ‘Meaning and action regarding the residents best interest’ (three sub-themes). Conclusions: An institutional distinction between volunteer versus professional caregiver domains contributed to a sense of ‘them and us’, which hindered common experiences and raised challenges concerning the mutual understanding of actions. The professional caregivers felt that they lacked the time to engage in social care activities with residents, for which volunteers otherwise had time. The coordinator role was a crucial link in coordinating the daily care activities for residents but marked by a sense of ambivalence among the professional caregivers.