Challenges in Volunteering from Cancer Care Volunteers Perspectives

The involvement of non-government organizations (NGOs) and support groups has helped strengthen publichealth services in addressing cancer care burden. Owing to the contribution of volunteers in cancer care, thisarticle documents a qualitative study that examined challenges in attracting and retaining cancer care volunteersas part of the effort to develop a volunteer recruitment model. Data were collected through three focus groupdiscussions involving 19 cancer support group members in Malaysia. Findings of the study revealed that mobilityand locality appeared to be significant in Malaysian context, while the need for financial support and timeflexibility are challenges faced by cancer support groups to attract and retain volunteers. The findings implythat cancer care initiatives can benefit from more local volunteers but at the same time these volunteers requireflexibility and financial support to sustain their engagement.