Written by Associate Professor Deidre Morgan
This year I had the privilege of spending six months in Europe on my Outside Studies Program (OSP), supported by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. I set out with a clear purpose: to immerse myself in global work on palliative rehabilitation. The World Health Organization now recommend the routine integration of rehabilitation into palliative care settings. What sets palliative rehabilitation apart from traditional rehabilitation is its focus on:
- optimising a person’s function for as long as possible to enable participation in meaningful activities,
- facilitation of adjustment to functional decline and approaching death.
However, rehabilitation is not consistently embedded within Australian palliative care services. There is a need for clearer models of palliative rehabilitation and evaluation of its potential health economic benefits.
Collaborations with the Cicely Saunders Institute
The majority of my OSP was spent in England, hosted by Cicely Saunders Institute (CSI), Kings College, London. This enabled me to work alongside researchers conducting the INSPIRE study investigating the effectiveness of an Integrated Short-term Palliative Rehabilitation for people with advanced cancer. Work undertaken at CSI included preparation for an Australian MRFF application to replicate the INSPIRE study in Australia and contribution to a WHO briefing on the important role of assistive technology to optimise function for people with palliative care needs. A highlight was attendance at a two day INSPIRE consortia meeting in Åarhus, Denmark. I also provided methodological support to two INSPIRE PhD students and developed a protocol for qualitative systematic review examining patient experiences of palliative rehabilitation, which will inform INSPIRE and future Australian research.
European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) Rehabilitation in Palliative Care Taskforce
A major part of my OSP was devoted to research with the EAPC Rehabilitation in Palliative Care Taskforce. This international group is tasked with developing the first international consensus definition of palliative rehabilitation which will inform international clinical care, research and education. Our multi-stage program includes a scoping review, a five-language survey, and qualitative study. A Delphi study will be undertaken to develop the consensus definition and reported as an EAPC whitepaper.
Teaching and Knowledge Exchange
Throughout my OSP I delivered workshops, lectures, and took part in masterclasses across England, Scotland, and Denmark. These sessions, to both hospice clinicians and palliative care researchers, covered topics around evidence supporting palliative rehabilitation, the relationship between altered embodiment and palliative rehabilitation, and dignity-conserving care.
A particular highlight was spending time with occupational therapy and physiotherapy researchers at the University of Southern Denmark and also at the Danish Knowledge Centre for Rehabilitation & Palliative Care REHPA, Denmark’s national centre for rehabilitation and palliative care.
Building Momentum for RePaDD
My time overseas has strengthened RePaDD’s global partnerships and laid the groundwork for several upcoming initiatives. These include an MRFF clinical trial grant application to examine the effect of a palliative rehabilitation intervention in Australian palliative care services, and publications. I will also attend the 2026 EAPC World Congress in Prague, where our taskforce will lead a dedicated themed rehabilitation session.
Looking Forward
My time with researchers and clinicians across Europe has reinforced for me that palliative rehabilitation is not a luxury — it is central to supporting people to live well, with autonomy and purpose at the end of life. Palliative rehabilitation is not just the domain of rehabilitation therapists (i.e., occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists and dietitians). All health professionals involved with care of people with palliative care needs have a responsibility to work towards optimising a person’s function. Symptom management is not an end in itself. We need to focus on what effective symptom management enables, which is active participation in meaningful activities.
OSP has given me a deep appreciation of the value of shared research and the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to work towards changing international policy and healthcare delivery. I look forward to collaborations to come.