Management and coordination of care for people living with a life-limiting illness benefits from a multidisciplinary team approach involving a range of health professionals. This includes allied health professionals who have an important role across various settings either as a team member or sole practitioner.
Dependent on their discipline, allied health professionals can help with symptom management including support with medication, nutrition, communication and mobility; help the person to maintain function and independence; offer emotional support; share information about disease progression and help to plan future care; and help connect the person and families to supportive services.
With increased calls for allied health professional involvement in palliative care, there is a need to support understanding and skill development in this area. In this section we present information and resources relevant to the roles in palliative care of: