Enhancing Home-Based Palliative Care Skills: Findings from the PIVOT Pilot Study
A pilot study published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine tested the feasibility and impact of PIVOT, an interdisciplinary training program designed to strengthen palliative care knowledge and confidence among home health clinicians. Through four hours of online discipline-specific learning and an interactive in-person session, participants gained improved confidence in symptom assessment and management, increased understanding of advance directives, and greater clarity on specialty palliative care and interdisciplinary roles. The largest improvement was in understanding what specialty palliative care provides.
All participants rated the training as highly helpful and expressed intent to apply new skills in practice. Despite its small sample, the pilot demonstrates early promise that structured, role-specific palliative care education can enhance home health clinicians' readiness to integrate core palliative practices into routine care.