International consensus on occupational therapy interventions for people with palliative care needs: A European Association for Palliative Care Group Concept Mapping study

Background: While evidence shows that occupational therapists can play a key role in the care of people with palliative care needs, more knowledge about effective occupational therapy interventions for this group is needed.

Aim: To identify, organise and prioritise intervention components considered to be effective within occupational therapy for people with palliative care needs from the perspective of occupational therapy clinicians, managers and researchers.

Design: Group Concept Mapping utilising a mixed methods participatory approach. Using a focus prompt, participants brainstormed, sorted, labelled and rated generated statements about effective occupational therapy intervention components. Multidimensional scaling analysis and cluster analysis were conducted.

Setting/Participants: Snowball recruitment was used to recruit participants. Participants included occupational therapists worldwide who were able to read and write in English and were working as clinicians, managers and/or researchers with occupational therapy interventions for people with palliative care needs.

Results: Seventy-two occupational therapists from 15 countries participated in the study representing Asia (n = 3, 20%), Europe (n = 8, 53%), Oceania (n = 2, 13%) and North America (n = 2, 13%). A total of 117 statements were identified and organised into five clusters: (1) being client-centred, (2) promoting occupational engagement to optimise quality of life, (3) involving the social and relational environment, (4) enabling occupations and (5) facilitating occupational adaptation.

Conclusions: Five clusters of core occupational therapy intervention components were considered to be effective when supporting people with palliative care needs. Research should use this knowledge to inform future occupational therapy interventions for this group of people.