Maximizing the Quality of Life and the End of Life with Occupational Therapy

Abstract

The World Health Organization’s definition of palliative care includes a goal to offer “a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death.” However many palliative care interdisciplinary teams do not include an occupational therapist (OT). This presentation will use a variety of case studies to illustrate how an OT can increase a person’s quality of life, even at the end of life. This is achieved by decreasing barriers to function, maximizing social participation, resuming roles that restore dignity and facilitating the ability to engage in the activities most meaningful to the patient