Volunteers in Refugee Help: is Health Promotion (by Public Health Services) Necessary?

Objectives To investigate health-related strains and resources of volunteers in refugee help. Methods Qualitative interviews with 10 volunteers in refugee help as well as 11 interviews with experts involved in coordinative tasks were conducted, transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Volunteers' work in refugee help is experienced as a strong resource. Volunteers receive a lot of thankfulness and appreciation and experience their work as enriching and enhancing self-worth. On the other hand, they also experience several stresses and problems. Difficulties in setting up appropriate boundaries regarding time and emotional involvement are mentioned as important reasons for the experienced stresses. Conclusions Support for volunteers in refugee help should be optimised and expanded in order to protect the volunteers from health-related strains. Public Health Services could play an important role in such improvements.