These pages provide access to resources and literature relevant to the practice of palliative care for Occupational Therapists (OTs).

Role in palliative care
This information will help you to find out more about working in palliative care. It may include narratives from those working in the area, descriptions of the role, or identify why the position is important:

• The Sacred Heart OT Service in NSW have defined their role within palliative care
• Calvary Healthcare, Bethlehem (specialist palliative care service) have information on their website about Occupational Therapy in their organisation
• The Cancer Council of NSW and the Peter MacCallum Oncology Hospital in Victoria define the roles of OTs.

Several peak bodies have recognised the role of OT in palliative care:

• OT Australia encourages service providers to adopt the Australian ‘Standards for providing quality palliative care to all Australians’ on a voluntary basis
• The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists position statement (2005) on Occupational Therapy and end-of life care can be found on their website
• The College of Occupational Therapists in the UK has a document that may be of interest – 'Occupational therapy intervention in cancer – guidance for professionals, managers and decision makers'.

Palliative care education and training
There are different ways to develop your knowledge and skills in palliative care. Web based learning modules, short courses and specialist palliative care courses and training are offered in many organisations and universities. Further information can be found on the Education pages of CareSearch. 

The Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) is an initiative under the National Palliative Care Program. It is a supported multidisciplinary course with work placements, offered across the country funded until 2010.

The Occupational Therapy unit at James Cook University offers a postgraduate course ‘Allied Health interventions for Palliative Care’.

The International Association for the Study of Pain has produced an Outline Curriculum on Pain for Schools of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy.

• Standards for providing quality palliative care for all Australians
• Palliative care service provision in Australia: a planning guide
• A guide to palliative care service development: A population based approach

The Department of Health and Ageing website has a palliative care section.