Occupational Therapy Practice in Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Québec.
Claudia Talbot-Coulombe, Gina Bravo, Annie Carrier
PMID 35243918WHAT IT FOUND
Most occupational therapists in Québec palliative care focus on equipment, positioning, and wound care.
Leisure, end-of-life rituals, and social participation are rarely addressed, despite being priorities for many clients.
Key findings
01Occupational therapists in palliative care primarily intervene with technical aids, therapeutic surfaces, positioning, and teaching, while rarely addressing capacity improvement.
02Leisure, activities related to death, and household chores were not addressed by participants, despite evidence that patients struggle with these occupations.
03Barriers include organizational issues like staff shortages and paperwork, as well as a lack of knowledge among other professionals about the occupational therapy role.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The view rate was low (13%), and non-response bias cannot be ruled out; those who did not respond may have different practices. The study was limited to Québec, so findings may not generalize to other regions. Self-reported data may not accurately reflect actual clinical practice. The survey was only available in French, potentially excluding eligible therapists who are not fluent.
Declared interests
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the lack of leisure or end-of-life ritual interventions means clients do not need them. The study suggests these areas are often overlooked due to narrow referral patterns and resource barriers, not because they are irrelevant to quality of life.