To be Truly Alive: Motivation Among Prison Inmate Hospice Volunteers and the Transformative Process of End-of-Life Peer Care Service

Kristin G. Cloyes, Susan J. Rosenkranz, Dawn Wold, Patricia H. Berry, Katherine P. Supiano

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Some US prisons are meeting the growing need for end-of-life care through inmate volunteer programs, yet knowledge of the motivations of inmate caregivers is underdeveloped. This study explored the motivations of inmate hospice volunteers from across Louisiana State (n = 75) through an open-ended survey, a grounded theory approach to analysis, and comparison of responses by experience level and gender. Participants expressed complex motivations; Inter-related themes on personal growth, social responsibility and ethical service to vulnerable peers suggested that inmate caregivers experience an underlying process of personal and social transformation, from hospice as a source of positive self-identity to peer-caregiving as a foundation for community. Better understanding of inmate caregiver motivations and processes will help prisons devise effective and sustainable end of life peer-care programs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)735-748
Number of pages14
JournalAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Volume31
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 11 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • end of life
  • hospice volunteer
  • peer-care
  • prison hospice

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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