{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T06:52:24Z","timestamp":1781679144496,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Palliative care (PC) is a specialized healthcare approach dedicated to improving the quality of life for patients and families facing life-threatening illnesses. While global standards emphasize a multidisciplinary team, the specific role of Occupational Therapy (OT) within the Saudi Arabian PC landscape remains under-investigated. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers of Saudi Occupational therapists (OTs).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methodology<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 50 licensed occupational therapists in Saudi Arabia. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential tests, including Pearson\u2019s Chi-square and Independent Samples t-tests, to evaluate the influence of education and experience on PC competencies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      50% of participants demonstrated \u201caverage\u201d knowledge, and 80% reported positive attitudes. However, critical gaps were identified, with 94% incorrectly believing PC is only for the terminal stages. Statistical analysis revealed that therapists who received PC training during their university education had significantly higher knowledge scores (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.041) than those who did not. The primary barrier to practice was a lack of awareness regarding the OT role (54%).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Although Saudi occupational therapists mainly held favorable views about PC, there were notable knowledge gaps and misunderstandings regarding palliative care. The most significant barrier identified was a lack of awareness of the OT role in a palliative setting. As such, integrating standardized PC modules into OT curricula is vital for raising the awareness of the OT role and aligning with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Vision 2030 healthcare objectives.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1804684","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T05:55:56Z","timestamp":1781675756000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Occupational therapists\u2019 knowledge, attitude, and perceived barriers regarding palliative care: a cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Amani","family":"Alnamnakani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hassan Izzeddin","family":"Sarsak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olfat Ibrahim","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Science for Physical Therapy, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University","place":["Giza, Egypt"]},{"name":"Physical Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Naif Qasem","family":"Aljabri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Department, College of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, Taibah University","place":["Madinah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Ziyadah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shouq","family":"Almutairi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tala","family":"Almarshoud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leen","family":"Maghrabi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rahaf","family":"Almalky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Palliative Care","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0207499","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0207499","article-title":"Palliative care for people living with HIV\/AIDS: factors influencing healthcare workers\u2019 knowledge, attitude and practice in public health facilities, Abuja, Nigeria","volume":"14","author":"Ajisegiri","year":"2019","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s12904-022-00965-w","article-title":"An exploration of person-centred approach in end-of-life care policies in England and Japan","volume":"21","author":"Fang","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Palliative Care"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"652","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpainsymman.2010.02.026","article-title":"Effectiveness of palliative Care Services in Symptom Control of patients with advanced terminal Cancer: a Spanish, multicenter, prospective, quasi-experimental, pre-post study","volume":"40","author":"G\u00f3mez-Batiste","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Pain Symptom Manag"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e4319","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.4319","article-title":"Development of palliative and end of life care: the current situation in Saudi Arabia","volume":"11","author":"Alshammary","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref6","volume-title":"Position Statement: Occupational Therapy in Palliative Care","year":"2016"},{"key":"ref7","first-page":"1","article-title":"Occupational therapists\u2019 knowledge, attitude and perceived barriers regarding palliative care: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia","volume-title":"Perdana Int. 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