Age-related variation in roles performed by hospice volunteers

This study examines age-related variation in the roles performed by volunte ers in hospice programs. Volunteers of varying age groupings display much s imilarity in their motivations for volunteering, how they learned about the opportunity to serve, the levels of satisfaction experienced from serving, and various measures of retention. The age of the volunteer significantly influenced the roles they performed at the hospice. Significantly more youn ger volunteers provide direct patient care services; and significantly more older volunteers provide both clerical and fund-raising services. Implicat ions for future research and recruitment and retention of hospice volunteer s are discussed.