Applied physiotherapeutic and occupational therapeutic interventions within palliative care: an exploratory survey

The aim of this exploratory survey was to provide an overview of physiotherapeutic and occupational therapeutic techniques and outcome measures applied in practice within palliative care. An anonymous web-based questionnaire was distributed to physiotherapists and occupational therapists in Flanders, Belgium between December 2017 and February 2018. A total of 91 respondents were included. Frequently applied interventions were: massage (51%), mobilization (49%), exercise therapy (46%), manual lymphatic drainage (42%), walking rehabilitation (40%) and breathing therapy (32%). Additional therapeutic aspects such as 'comfort care' and 'creating a therapeutic alliance' were mentioned by 34% of all therapists and cannot be ignored as an important part of treatment. Outcome measures were not always used to evaluate treatment because of time constraints and because progress was considered difficult to conceptualize in a palliative care context. The most frequently used outcome measures were a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the 6-minute walk test. In this study, the most frequently applied physiotherapeutic and occupational therapeutic interventions within palliative care were massage, mobilization and exercise therapy. However, therapists stress that these techniques are not mandatory, since care is always informed by the individual comfort and daily functioning of patients. Other than a VAS, outcome measures were used minimally.

Publication year:2019

Keywords:A1 Journal article

Accessibility:Closed