Role of Occupational Therapist in Palliative Care

Caring for dying patients dates back to the beginnings of medicine, although Palliative Medicine is described as a new discipline. The question of death and dying is taboo topic, even though the need for this care continues to increase. Palliative Care is provided through professional Palliative Team, which also includes Occupational Therapist. The aim of this thesis is to determine the possible intervention of Occupational Therapy in palliative care and to contribute to the literature on this issue. The theoretical part defines the concept of palliative care and there are key aspects. Thesis has been devoted to rehabilitation and palliative care, occupational therapy intervention, including specific examples of interventions in selected common symptoms of Palliative Patients. The practical part describes how to provide Palliative Care in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, there is described situation in the Czech Republic for comparison. For data collection methods there were used interview and observation. The conclusion of this work is to confirm that the Occupational Therapist has an important place in the Palliative Care team. Unfortunately, in the Czech Republic the profession of palliative care is not represented. Key words: Palliative care Hospice Occupational Therapy Rehabilitatio