Ms Zhi Wen Ewee Yeo1, Matthew Flinders Prof Jennifer Tieman1,2, Matthew Flinders Prof Stacey George1,3, Dr Olivia Farrer1,2
1Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS), Adelaide, Australia, 2 Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying (RePaDD), Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, 3Adelaide Primary Health Network (PHN), Adelaide, Australia
Biography:
Dr Olivia Farrer is a research fellow with the Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying [RePaDD], and project lead for the End of Life Directions in Aged Care (ELDAC) Allied Health Toolkit project; which aims to enhance knowledge and capability in end of life care for older adults in aged care. Olivia is also an accredited practising dietitian and teaching program director at Flinders University, supporting self-regulating allied health professions in delivery of current and quality curriculum.
Abstract:
A recent scoping review found a paucity of evidence to inform allied health best practice in aged and palliative care. This study sought to explore whether findings from gerontological literature could be extrapolated to practice in palliative and end of life care. The systematic review followed PRISMA reporting guidelines. A search strategy was executed in Medline, Scopus, Pubmed and CINAHL, with date restriction of 2014 – 2024. The search strategy was developed using key words Gerontology, Allied Health Professionals, Intervention and Older Adults. Inclusion criteria were studies testing an intervention delivered by one or more of Physiotherapists, Dietitian, Speech Pathologist or Occupational Therapist; with older adults (>65yrs), in a residential or own home aged care setting. A total of 1553 abstracts were screened, and 21 articles retrieved for full text review with studies representing all disciplines except Speech Pathology. Studies were often single discipline but frequently presented interprofessional outcomes such as nutritional status, strength, mobility or independence with activities of daily living (ADL) and were relatable to palliative care. Findings were mostly for exercise-based interventions and delivered broad positive outcomes. Regular and early input seems to be key, and particularly so in management of malnutrition which is difficult to reverse once someone is frail and malnourished. In summary the literature suggests an individualised strategy for exercise, nutrition and ADL delivered in the home, will have greater impact for quality-of-life outcomes. More research exploring interprofessional care models is needed to promote the value of allied health in palliative and aged care.