| Source searched | Date | Potential inclusions | Result |
| Meta Register of Controlled trials, (www.controlled‐trials.com/mrct/search.html) | 21 Jan 2012 | 1 result from search engine. REST – Reducing End of life Symptoms with Touch. [NIH ClinicalTrials.gov Register (International) ‐ subset of randomised trial records]. Purpose of study to determine whether massage therapy is effective in reducing pain and distress and improving quality of life among cancer patients at life's end. Study used volunteers to provide intervention. Not a study of volunteer support interventions. | No relevant studies |
| Meta Register of Controlled trials, (www.controlled‐trials.com/mrct/search.html) | 21 Jan 2012 | 8 results from search engine related to interventions regarding patient care. 'Voluntary' referred to voluntary consent. | No relevant studies |
| International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Search Portal (www.who.int/trialsearch) | 1 Jan 2012 | 299 records for 286 trials checked. 1 possible study excluded as it referred to spousal carers rather than designated volunteers. | No relevant studies |
| International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Search Portal (www.who.int/trialsearch) | 21 Jan 2012 | 0 results from search engine. | No relevant studies |
| CareSearch (www.caresearch.com.au/) | 31 Jan 2012 | 0 results from search engine. | No relevant studies |
| The National Gold Standards Framework (UK) (www.goldstandardsframework.nhs.uk; www.goldstandardsframework.org.au) | 21 Jan 2012 | 3 results from search engine: 1 briefing, 1 newsletter, 1 evaluation of Gold Standards Framework. | No relevant studies |
| NHS UK (www.nhs.uk) | 21 Jan 2012 | 1050 results from search engine including: 1 press release case study of a volunteer; 1 press release re volunteers helping staff 11 Aug 2011 (not referring to research). Others related to stories about volunteering including participating in clinical trials. | No relevant studies |
| International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (www.hospicecare.com) | 21 Jan 2012 | No research reports. | No relevant studies |
| International Observatory on End of Life Care (www.lancs.ac.uk/shm/research/ioelc/) | 21 Jan 2012 | 49 results from search engine but all excluded including 4 descriptive studies with focus on volunteer roles rather than interventions to support and 1 related to advance care planning. | No relevant studies |
| Help the Hospices (www.helpthehospices.org.uk/) | 21 Jan 2012 | 496 results from search engine but none were reports of courses, training or support for volunteers. | No relevant studies |
| Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN) (aphn.wordpress.com) | 21 Jan 2012 | List of press releases only. | No relevant studies |
| World Palliative Care Alliance (www.thewpca.org) | 21 Jan 2012 | 260 results from search engine but all referred to press releases, developing country strategies, toolkit, or training manual. | No relevant studies |
| International Volunteer Programs Association (www.volunteerinternational.org) | 21 Jan 2012 | 15 results from search engine but none related to palliative care. | No relevant studies |
| Oxford International Centre for Palliative Care (www.sobellhospiceoxford.org) | 21 Jan 2012 | 5 results from search engine but related to jobs and testimonials. | No relevant studies |
| Palliative Care Australia (www.palliativecare.org.au) | 21 Jan 2012 | Only links to annual reports, bulletins, strategic plans. | No relevant studies |
| Japan Hospice Palliative Care Foundation (www.hospat.org/english/future.html) | 21 Jan 2012 | No research reports. | No relevant studies |
| African Palliative Care Association (www.apca.org.ug) | 21 Jan 2012 | 7 results from search engine related to publications but not related to volunteers. Link to toolkit for establishing services. | No relevant studies |
| Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (www.chpca.net) | 21 Jan 2012 | No research listed. | No relevant studies |
| Indian Association of Palliative Care (www.palliativecare.in) | 21 Jan 2012 | No research directly listed but training described on site and links to journals via Indian Journal of Palliative Care, Cochrane and the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC). | No relevant studies |
| National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (www.nhpco.org) | 21 Jan 2012 | Members only access to performance measures. Volunteers not mentioned. | No relevant studies |
| Family Health International (www.fhi.org/en/index.htm) | 21 Jan 2012 | 41 results from search engine but these relate to news or reports on service development and delivery, testimonials, or refer to voluntary counselling and testing in relation to HIV. | No relevant studies |
| Volunteering Australia (www.volunteeringaustralia.org) | 21 Jan 2012 | 4 results from search engine relate to press releases and reference to two reports: Lee, Shirley. Reflections of Volunteers in Palliative Care; and ECU 2005 Volunteers contributing to a palliative approach in aged care: A model for helping out. Searches on Google Scholar could not locate these. | Two potential reports (which look to be descriptive accounts) could not be found. |
| WHO (www.who.int) | 25 May 2012 | Searches conducted in January 2012 (21 and 31 January) and May 2012 (24 and 25 May). Total of 2290 results from search engine. Nothing relevant identified although 7 reports and 1 peer‐reviewed publication were retrieved and assessed for inclusion. These were descriptive studies. No studies identified that reported support or training for palliative care volunteers. | No relevant studies found |
| NICE (http://www.nice.org.uk) | 25 May 2012 | Total 40 results (3 from "palliative + volunteer" and 37 from "palliative + voluntary") One possible study excluded ‐ Workforce training standard had no references to relevant studies. See http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qualitystandards/endoflifecare/WorkforceTraining.jsp | No relevant studies found |
| Red Cross (www.redcross.org.au) | 25 May 2012 | No studies found. | No relevant studies found |
| International Volunteering Research (www.ivr.org.uk) | 21 Jan 2012 | Two descriptive studies identified. | No relevant studies found |
| CRUSE Bereavement Care (www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk) Organisation for the recruitment, training and support of bereavement volunteers | 21 Jan 2012 | Reference to 2 possible studies but these excluded. 1 was a feasibility study of volunteer program rather than an intervention to support volunteers, and the other, specifically related to AIDS, describes task shifting which involves training lower qualified staff to retain knowledge in resource poor areas. | No relevant studies found |
