Introduction: Palliative care is a specialized medical care which focuses on improving the quality of care as well as the lives of terminally ill people and their families. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to present how occupational therapy interventions affect on patient in palliative care and his family . Methods: In the diploma work we used a qualitative research method with literature review. The literature search was performed in the following electronic databases: CINAHL, PubMed and Sage Journals. Inclusive criteria: content relevant, type and age of articles written in Slovene or English and available in full text. Twelve scientific studies were included in the final analysis and synthesis, of which five with quantitative and seven with qualitative design. Results: Twelve scientific studies were included in the final analysis. Qualitative data synthesis provided three topics for discussion: the inclusion of occupational therapy in palliative care, education of students and occupational therapists, the program "Caring for cancer patients in the home environment." Discussion and conclusion: Maintaining occupations is crucial to increase quality of life and reduce suffering in palliative care patients. Therefore, occupational therapy is an important part of palliative care, as it improves their quality of life by involving the patient in occupations and by a person-centered approach. In addition to applying an individual-centered approach that encompasses his and environmental factors, addressing the individual's needs and understanding the impact of incurable disease on patient occupations and roles is crucial. Occupational therapists also play a key role in managing symptoms, prescribing aids and advising relatives as well as carers. Occupational therapy services help to actively participate in activities, restore or restore one's identity as well as restore dignity and individuality, develop the ability to control diseases and maintain the need to acquire alternative skills. Then the increase in self-efficacy in a person is reflected in increasing self-confidence, personal beliefs, the ability to accept new activities and problem solving. Nevertheless, the profession of occupational therapy is rarely involved in palliative care. Due to the rare inclusion of occupational therapy, lack of experience and knowledge, it would be sensible to encourage the promotion of occupational therapy services in palliative care as well as education on the role of occupational therapists in the field of palliative care.
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