Vrijwilligerszorg: een gebrekkig alternatief

The value of voluntary care in meeting minor care needs is greatly emphasized in the Dutch Social Support Act (Wet Maatschappelijke Ondersteuning, WMO). Many positive qualities are attributed to voluntary care, which would allegedly be lacking in professional, non-medical care provision. In the process of policy reform, the opinions of care-dependent clients are often not taken into account. In this article we investigate how people with minor care needs - and reduced access to public financed care - perceive and experience the recent shift to voluntarism. We emphasize that care reform not only entails a changing provision of care; it also alters pathways to recognition. A lack of recognition may negatively affect the self-esteem of those receiving care. Our explorative, qualitative study maps various forms of misrecognition, as experienced by clients during the switch to voluntary care. Potential ways to enrich recognition paths for those in need of (minor) care in the new voluntary care model are discussed, to really enable the WMO motto ‘Everyone counts’.

Conflict of interest and financial support: ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online along with the full text of this article.