The information behavior of hospice volunteer coordinators

This study explores the information behavior of hospice volunteer coordinators employed in hospice care in Southern Appalachia. The study is conceptualized according to Taylor's Information Use Environment (IUE) and uses a qualitative approach by employing the critical incident technique (CIT) in order to elicit emic descriptions of participants' memorable episodes of information behavior and enablers of and constraints on that behavior. Fifteen of twenty volunteer coordinators have participated. Data analysis incorporates a dual method of grounded theory and structuration theory. Preliminary analysis of the data reveals that company manuals and colleagues are the most widely-used sources of information, and that those and other sources act as both enablers and constraints of coordinators' information behavior. It is hoped that the research will contribute meaningfully to the emergent body of health-related information behavior research, and function as a guide for improving hospice care volunteer training and retention.