Palliative rehabilitation and quality of life: systematic review and meta-analysis

International guidelines recommend the integration of multidisciplinary rehabilitation into palliative care services but its impact on quality of life across disease types is not well understood.

To determine the effect of multidisciplinary palliative rehabilitation on quality of life and healthcare service outcomes for adults with an advanced, life-limiting illness.

Electronic databases CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PEDro were searched from the earliest records to February 2024.

Randomised controlled trials examining the effect of multidisciplinary palliative rehabilitation in adults with an advanced, life-limiting illness and reported quality of life were eligible.

Study characteristics, quality of life and health service usage data were extracted, and the methodological quality was assessed using PEDro. Meta-analyses using random effects were completed, and Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria were applied.

Quality of life and healthcare service outcomes.

27 randomised controlled trials (n=3571) were included. Palliative rehabilitation was associated with small improvements in quality of life (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.40, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.56). These effects were significant across disease types: cancer (SMD 0.22, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.41), heart failure (SMD 0.37, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.05) and non-malignant respiratory diagnoses (SMD 0.77, 95% CI 0.29 to 1.24). Meta-analysis found low-certainty evidence, palliative rehabilitation reduced the length of stay by 1.84 readmission days.

Multidisciplinary palliative rehabilitation improves quality of life for adults with an advanced, life-limiting illness and can reduce time spent in hospital without costing more than usual care. Palliative rehabilitation should be incorporated into standard palliative care.

CRD42022372951.