Proceedings of the 8th World Conference on Qualitative Research

Palliative Care is an area under development in Portugal, in which investment has been made to ensure adequate access to those who need it. The quality of this care requires a coordinated, formed and trained interdisciplinary team, with skills in assessing and treating symptoms. In Portugal, there are few teams that have an occupational therapist (OT), the majority of whom have professionals from other services, and are not exclusive in themselves, as the intervention is already conditioned. In the literature review, we found studies that highlight several importance of OT practice internationally and in a reduced form in the national context.
In this sense, the objective is to characterize the experience/performance of the OT with users with palliative needs in the Portuguese context, in relation to the organization of services/teams; in relation to the performance itself, the core competencies used, as well as the main activities/practices. It will be a descriptive, qualitative study. It will use the Focus Group (FG) technique, which facilitates the exploration of professionals' points of view, via group, in a way that is not possible in individual interviews. It is intended to carry out 2 focus groups with OT and which, from the outset, will be able to generate debates, productive discussions and relevant to the study. TOs must have 2 or more years of professional experience in the CP area in Portugal. G1, with up to 10 participants who work in PC in the community and G2, with up to 10 participants from inpatient PC. The FG will take place online, after informed consent and completion of sociodemographic information. The data will be processed via content analysis.
In short, there is a pressing need for research that standardizes practices and allows this professional area to be highlighted.