Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide services to patients confronting the end of life (EOL) in a variety of settings. Instead of targeting improvement of health or sustaining life, EOL services focus primarily on quality of life. Although SLPs may not consider themselves core members of the health care team providing EOL services, the…

Clinical speech-language pathologists (SLPs) may receive referrals to consult with teams serving patients who have a severe and/or terminal disease. Palliative care focuses on the prevention or relief of suffering to maximize quality of life for these patients and their families. This article describes how the role of the SLP in palliative care…

The author discusses an assessment of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's work over a 20-year period to improve end-of-life care in America. The case illustrates the evolution of the strategy from one focused on a multiyear randomized control trial of a series of hospital-based interventions that produced findings of "no effects" into several…

End-of-life care is continuously becoming an issue of paramount importance given an increase in medical advances, the aging of the population, and the movement toward contributing toward a quality of life among terminally ill patients. However, there is a dearth in literature related to this topic specifically in terms of preparing counselors to…