Perspectief 2020-48

48 Kateryna Biletska MA Perspectief engaged in care in two major ways. First, they may take care of incurable patients during the day or night. This is particularly helpful for family caregivers since it reduces their load and gives a chance for physical and emotional rest. Second, trained volunteer assistants may provide emotional support during the progression of the disease and in the period of heavy loss 34 . According to the results of the study by Luijkx K. G. at al., the next of kin of incurable patients were particularly grateful to the volunteers for their emotional sup- port. It proved even more important than practical backing. 95 % of the surveyed relatives claimed that they felt empathy from the volunteer assistance, 93% stated that volunteers «gave the feeling that one is not on one’s own» , 90% felt relief (“ the opportunity to get one’s breath back”) , and 83% of caregivers admitted that voluntary assistants gave them a possibility to speak out and were really listening to them 35 . In the Netherlands, in average, four volunteers take care of one incurable patient and his/her family. Most of Dutch people know about the availability of such service in the country, however, they are not always aware of what institutions they need to address in order to get some help from voluntary assistants. Therefore, general practitioners and home care professionals usually mediate between family caregivers and voluntary assis- tants 36 . Besides home and hospice care, volunteers are also involved, although a bit less, in inpatient palliative care units in hospitals and elderly care homes 37 . ‘ Since 1997 the co- ordination of registered volunteer care for terminal patients has been partially funded by the government, which can be considered as an acknowledgment of the important work of volunteers’ 38 . It is not a coincidence that a significant number of volunteers are taking care of the terminally ill and their families. 13% of the Dutch population are informal caregivers 39 . Caring for incurable patients is mainly provided by women (58.9%) who are married (68.5%). Their median age is 53 years. Only 20.1% of family carers had to reduce their working hours or stop working due to informal care. 61.3 % of the caregivers saved their paid job, to which they devote 31 hours per week on average. At the same time, almost 70 % of employees manage to successfully combine work duties with care provided for the terminally ill. In fact, such a caregiver's effectiveness is possible because the duty of care is not the prerogative of a single person. 81.2 % of caregivers receive assistance from other family members, and 56.5 % of relatives benefit from the help of health