Making the hospital care in the Czech Republic more effective through volunteering

Volunteering in the health sector contributes to improving the quality of services and has positive benefits for the volunteers themselves and the health service providers, and especially for patients and their families, as well as for society. The aim of this article is to summarize the main findings of the evaluation of the project Efficiency of the hospital care system in the Czech Republic through volunteering (CZ.03 .3.X/0.0/0.0/15_018/0007517), which was implemented between 2019 and 2023 by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. The evaluation of the project was based on a combination of quantitative research (questionnaire surveys focused on the target groups of the project) and qualitative methods (individual and group interviews). The internal and external impact evaluation of the project shows significant changes in the short term for patients and their family members who use volunteering in healthcare, as well as for healthcare professionals and providers. The development of volunteering in healthcare and its effective coordination is a suitable and proven tool to support and improve the psychosocial aspect of care for hospitalized patients and a way to achieve the desired goals of the healthcare system.