Occupational Therapy News OTnews April 2019 | Page 22

FEATURE PALLIATIVE CARE
Participants stated that the engagement sessions
would enable them to go forth with renewed enthusiasm
and greater awareness of the barriers to delivering
palliative care; and the need to embrace opportunities for
joint working to provide integrated services to meet the
needs of patients.
In taking part in these engagement sessions
participants valued the opportunity to network and share
ideas and best practice.
Moving forward
This project has shed light on the role of the specialist
and generalist occupational therapist in palliative care,
however it should be acknowledged that the original area
of interest ‘palliative rehabilitation’ was not addressed.
This may have been due to the participants’
understanding of palliative rehabilitation or the way the
question was phrased.
These events have generated interest and discussion
by providing an opportunity for occupational therapists
and the specialist section committee members to identify
and reflect on the unique contribution that occupational
therapists can offer to palliative care services.
Occupational therapists can contribute to this and
ensure people with advanced disease can live as fully
as possible, engaging in important and meaningful
occupations for as long as possible.
The RCOTSS-OPC national executive committee
is committed to building on this piece of work and will
evaluate how to best to support its members in ensuring
they have the right skills to be able to meet the demands
of their role.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association (2015) The role of
occupational therapy in palliative and hospice care. Available
from: https://bit.ly/2ukTOby [accessed 29 November 2018]
College of Occupational Therapists (2004) Occupational therapy
intervention in cancer. Guidance for professionals, managers
Association for Palliative Care cross-sectional survey.
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Gascoigne MT (2012) The balanced system. Available from:
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2018]
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to live fully until they die – A challenge for the 21st century.
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HB (2016) Occupational therapy for adults with cancer: Why
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Cooper J (2016) Occupational therapy in oncology and
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Etkind SN, Bone AE, Gomes B, Lovell N, Evans CJ, Higgingson
IJ and Murtagh FEM (2017) How many people will need
palliative care in 2040? Past trends, future projections and
implications for services. BMC Medicine. 15: 102
Eva G and Morgan D (2018) Mapping the scope of
occupational therapy practice in palliative care: A European
22 OTnews April 2019
Jeni Woods, chair of RCOTSS-OPC, email: Jeni.
[e-mail], and Lara Cowpe, RCOTSS-
OPC research and education liaison, email: CowpeL1@
cardiff.ac.uk. For a copy of the full report email:
[e-mail]