Hospice volunteers exhibit specific traits
Hospice volunteers exhibit specific traits
Empathy part of volunteer personality
Hospice palliative care female volunteers are more agreeable, open and empathetic than the normal woman, according to a study published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care.1
A total of 99 hospice volunteers, all female, completed two written assessments that measure personality traits. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) measures openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) measures perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress, and fantasy scale.
Compared to the norms for adult females on the NEO-FFI, female hospice palliative care volunteers scored significantly higher on the traits of agreeableness, extraversion, and openness, and they scored significantly lower on the trait of neuroticism. On the empathy measure, female hospice palliative care volunteers scored significantly higher on the empathic concern and perspective taking subscales compared to the female norms, and they scored significantly lower on the personal distress and fantasy subscales. Authors point out that the results of this study might have implications for the recruitment and retention of hospice palliative care volunteers.
Reference
1. Claxton-Oldfield S, Banzen Y. Personality characteristics of hospice palliative care volunteers: The "Big Five" and empathy. Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2010;27:407-412.
Hospice palliative care female volunteers are more agreeable, open and empathetic than the normal woman, according to a study published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care.Subscribe Now for Access
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