Evaluation of the “Attentive Visitors” training program to support community volunteers in their palliative care signposting role: a multimethods design

Abstract

Background:

The Attentive Visitors training was developed to increase community volunteers’ knowledge, skills and confidence regarding their role, signposting, and communication to address palliative care needs with community residents and healthcare professionals.

Aims:

To pilot-test and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of the training at the volunteer level.

Design:

Multi-method design utilizing a quantitative pre-test/post-test survey before (T0), immediately after (T1) and 2 months after (T2) the training to assess effectiveness; focus groups and interviews to evaluate subjective effectiveness and acceptability; and the Most Significant Change Technique to capture the wider impact of the training.

Settings/participants:

Participants included community volunteers and stakeholders involved in palliative home care, primary care, and volunteer coordination in Flanders, Belgium. They were purposively sampled through Samana, a nonprofit organization supporting people with chronic illness and their informal caregivers.

Results:

The training was pilot-tested among 59 community volunteers across six locations in Flanders, Belgium. Thirty-seven (63%) volunteers completed both modules (i.e. the didactic and follow-up session). Nineteen volunteers participated in interviews and eight stakeholders took part in a group discussion. The training had a positive effect (at T2) on knowledge about palliative care (0.58 fewer incorrect answers at T2; p = 0.011) and self-efficacy in discussing identified needs with a community resident (+0.51 at T2; p < 0001) and healthcare professional (+0.42 at T2; p = 0022). Community volunteers reported increased awareness of their own importance, more self-efficacy in setting boundaries, and more self-confidence in communicating with community residents and healthcare professionals. Community volunteers indicated that the training met their expectations, was useful, and that benefits were proportionate to required efforts.

Conclusions:

The training was evaluated positively on effectiveness and acceptability, enabling volunteers to respond better to palliative care needs and to support them in their signposting role. Findings of this early evaluation, focusing on short-term outcomes, suggest that this training program can be scaled up and integrated into educational programs of stakeholder organizations.