Abstract
The global shortfall of healthcare workers as well as the growing issue of healthcare worker (HCW) burnout have placed health systems under increased pressure. This has emphasised the importance of supporting resources such as healthcare-related volunteerism, in which volunteer healthcare professionals (HCVs) play a niche and critical role, often serving as force multipliers for the volunteer teams with whom they serve. This qualitative study looks at gaining a better understanding of the motivations behind volunteerism in healthcare professionals, with the overarching aim of improving volunteer satisfaction and retention as well as contributing to the bigger effort of understanding and addressing HCW burnout.
The study was conducted within the scope of the TriGen @ SGH HomeCare Programme, a volunteer-led clinical service run by TriGen, a registered charity organisation, in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a public government hospital. The programme aimed to reduce hospitalisation rates of frequently readmitted community-dwelling residents through longitudinal fortnightly home visits conducted over a span of six months by an inter-professional team of HCVs and non-healthcare volunteers (nHCVs). A multi-disciplinary meeting was conducted mid-way in the cycle to review and refine the planning and implementation of each team’s community-based interventions.
In 2022, a pilot phase of the programme was launched, reaching out to 10 residents via 30 HCVs and 29 nHCVs. 13 HCVs, including nurses, pharmacists and a doctor, were recruited through convenience sampling for semi-structured interviews. The results were then coded using inductive thematic analysis.
The study highlighted five recurring themes regarding the motivations of the studied HCVs in volunteering. “Developing into a more holistic provider of patient centred care” encompassed HCVs’ desire for professional development via acquisition of new perspectives and increased understanding of community care and resources. “Meeting an internal need for fulfilment and satisfaction” described a function of volunteerism in meeting HCVs’ need for a degree of fulfilment that they may have found lacking in their home or work situations. “Intrinsic altruism” suggested the presence of an innate desire to help others. “Drawing the connection between the past and the present”, revealed a function of volunteerism in recapturing positive emotions derived from past events and relationships. Lastly, “attractive community” revealed the draw of building new connections and being part of the volunteer community.
The direct utility of these results in the field of volunteerism is derived from the matching hypothesis, where the degree to which volunteers receive affordances corresponding to their motives is a contributing factor to both volunteer satisfaction and sustained volunteerism. This can be used to focus the refinement of volunteer programmes - examples include investing in ensuring sufficient opportunities for professional development and building a supportive community.
Beyond the field of volunteerism, the results give a glimpse into the motivations of HCWs who volunteer above and beyond their professional working obligations. This knowledge will assist in understanding the intrinsic motivation of HCWs, developing motivation-based workplace solutions and paving the way for future research in the pursuit of greater workforce sustainability.