Providing palliative care in a rehabilitation setting: a staff needs assessment

Background: Rehabilitation is aimed at maximising a person’s ability to live well and as independently as possible within their circumstances. However, when a patient’s condition deteriorates, health care professionals working in rehabilitation may be required to adopt a more palliative approach to care and need to be prepared for this to optimise quality of life and relieve suffering.

Aims and objectives: This study aimed to identify the multidisciplinary health care team members’ education and support needs in providing palliative care at an outer metropolitan in-patient rehabilitation facility.

Methods: An exploratory study which used a mixed-method approach. A structured survey was administered to all clinical staff, and 58 completed surveys were returned. Subsequently, three focus group discussions were conducted where a summary of the survey results were presented and discussed by 22 survey respondents.

Results: In the survey, participants reported confidence in managing patients’ physical care and providing support, though indicated the need for more education and support in palliative aspects of care. The focus group discussions uncovered challenges associated with the integration of palliative approaches to rehabilitative care that included: identifying when and how care transition occurs; and the skills and strategies needed to provide optimum care to the patient across this continuum.

Conclusion: The study highlights the challenges rehabilitation health care professionals encountered in providing palliative care. To ensure that patients receive optimal care, participants stressed the importance of a supportive environment, adequate resources and being equipped with appropriate knowledge and skills.