A Contemplative Care Approach to Training and Supporting Hospice Volunteers: A Prospective Study of Spiritual Practice, Well-Being, and Fear of Death

Background Inspired by a 2,500-year-old Buddhist tradition, the Zen Hospice Project (ZHP) provides residential hospice care, volunteer programs, and educational efforts that cultivate wisdom and compassion in service. Objective The present study was designed to understand how being with dying hospice residents affects hospice volunteers well-being and the role of spiritual practice in ameliorating the fear of death. Design A one-year longitudinal study of two volunteer cohorts (N = 24 and N=22) with repeated measures of spiritual practice, well-being, and hospice performance during one-year service as volunteers. Setting The Zen Hospice Guest House and Laguna Honda Residential Hospital of San Francisco, CA. Participants All 46 individuals who became ZHP volunteers during two years. Interventions A 40-hour training program for beginning hospice volunteers stressing compassion, equanimity, mindfulness, and practical bedside care; a one-year caregiver assignment five hours per week; and monthly group meeting. Main Outcome Measures Self-report FACIT spiritual well-being, general well-being, self-transcendence scale, and a volunteer coordinator-rated ZHP performance scale. Results The volunteers had a high level of self-care and well-being at baseline and maintained both throughout the year; they increased compassion and decreased fear of death. Those (n = 20) practicing yoga were found to have consistently lower fear of death than the group average ( P = .04, P = .008, respectively). All rated the training and program highly, and 63% continued to volunteer after the first year's commitment. The results suggest that this approach to training and supporting hospice volunteers fosters emotional well-being and spiritual growth.