Content: The use of recreational, expressive, and integrative methods of providing supportive care to patients and families coping with cancer is growing in cancer treatment settings. One such method is animal-assisted interventions (AAI). From the…
INTRODUCTION: Adequate communication by medical personnel is especially important at certain points during the treatment of childhood cancer patients. AIM: To investigate the timing and manner of communication with parents concerning the introduction…
PURPOSE: Children who have a parent with incurable cancer are in a vulnerable situation and the Swedish law tries to protect them. This article aims to explore the interactions between nurses and children of patients with incurable cancer from the…
BACKGROUND: Bereavement support is a core tenet of palliative care that may prove difficult for clinicians as it is time-consuming, emotionally charged, and not emphasized in pediatrics training. This project is intended to describe the opinions,…
PURPOSE: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer are a cohort requiring specialized healthcare models to address unique cognitive and physical challenges. Advance care planning (ACP) discussions likely warrant age-appropriate adaptation, yet,…
This article highlights key findings from the "Comprehensive Cancer Care for Children and Their Families" March 2015 joint workshop by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the American Cancer Society. This initiative convened more than 100 family…
This study evaluated the potential impact of an online spiritual care educational program on pediatric nurses' attitudes toward and knowledge of spiritual care and their competence to provide spiritual care to children with cancer at the end of life.…
Paediatric palliative care (PPC) endeavours to alleviate the suffering and improve the quality of life of children with serious illnesses and their families. In the past two decades since WHO defined PPC and called for its inclusion in paediatric…
As a result of oncology research and technology, great improvements in cancer treatment and survival have occurred in the past 2 decades. However, adolescents and young adults (AYAs) who received a diagnosis of cancer have not witnessed the same…
OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to explore bereaved siblings' positive and negative memories and experiences of their brother's or sister's illness and death. METHOD: In our nationwide Swedish study, 174 of 240 (73%) bereaved siblings participated, and 70%…
Background: Parents of children with cancer admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) often obtain support from social workers and/or chaplains (SWs/Cs). Yet, empirical work describing the roles and activities of SWs/Cs caring for patients…
CONTEXT: The families of oncology patients requiring intensive care often face increasing complexity in communication with their providers, particularly when patients are cared for by providers from different disciplines. OBJECTIVE: To describe…
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on cultural factors influencing clinical care and family management of pediatric cancer. METHODS: A literature review including 72 articles related to cultural issues in pediatric cancer was conducted. Information…
BACKGROUND: Many adult patients with cancer who know they are dying choose less intense care; additionally, high-intensity care is associated with worse caregiver outcomes. Little is known about intensity of end-of-life care in children with cancer.…
OBJECTIVE: Although support programs for children whose parents have cancer have been described and evaluated, formal research has not been conducted to document outcomes. We adapted a group intervention called CLIMB(R), originally developed in the…
Purpose Cancer is the leading cause of nonaccidental death among adolescents and young adults (AYAs). High-intensity end-of-life care is expensive and may not be consistent with patient goals. However,the intensity of end-of-life care forAYAdecedents…
Approximately 2,200 children and adolescents die a cancer-related death each year in the United States; of these, almost 90% will die while experiencing 2 to 8 troubling symptoms. With improved symptom control and end-of-life care, these patients…
To review the qualitative literature on experiences of and preferences for end-of-life care of people with cancer aged 16-40 years (young adults) and their informal carers. A systematic review using narrative synthesis of qualitative studies using…
CONTEXT: Pediatric palliative care randomized controlled trials (PPC-RCTs) are uncommon. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of conducting a PPC-RCT in pediatric cancer patients. METHODS: This was a cohort study embedded in the Pediatric Quality…
OBJECTIVE: This mixed-methods study set in the West Midlands region of the UK demonstrates the effectiveness of Q methodology in examining general practitioners' (GPs') perception of their role in children's oncology palliative care. METHODS: Using…
Context: Although a large percentage of children with advanced-stage cancer die at home, remarkably little information is available regarding the experience of general practitioners (GPs) with respect to providing home-based palliative care to…
Children living with and dying from advanced cancer and their families experience significant suffering. The cure of disease and the relief of suffering are dual moral obligations of our professions. To relieve suffering, health care providers must…
Providing end-of-life care to children with cancer is most ideally achieved by initiating palliative care at the time of diagnosis, advocating for supportive care throughout the treatment trajectory, and implementing hospice care during the terminal…
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 125 pediatric oncology patients who died in 2010-2014 to explore how healthcare utilization, pediatric palliative care (PPC) receipt, and end-of-life care (EOLC) differed between patients enrolled in early…
Medical marijuana (MM) has become increasingly legal at the state level and accessible to children with serious illness. Pediatric patients with cancer may be particularly receptive to MM, given purported benefits in managing cancer-related symptoms.…
AIM: Children with refractory or high-risk malignancies frequently suffer from poor quality of life during palliative care. This study explored the effect of metronomic drug administration on survival and quality of life in paediatric patients with…
OBJECTIVES: Fatigue is common among children living with cancer, particularly in advance stages. Little is known about the effectiveness of non-pharmacological approaches to manage this complex and distressing symptom among children. Thus, the…
BACKGROUND: Adolescent and young adult oncology (AYAO) patients often receive intensive medical care and experience significant symptoms at the end of life (EOL). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the characteristics of AYAO patients aged 15-26…
Communication between pediatric providers, patients, and their families is a key component of for children with serious illness, with broad implications for patient and family outcomes. Recommendations for effective and compassionate palliative…
Death from cancer is often painful. Usually, the pain can be relieved in ways that allow patients to remain awake and alert until the end. Sometimes, however, the only way to relieve pain is to sedate patients until they are unconscious. This method…
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this review of published literature was to identify the number and focus of empirically based papers that included research methods used to directly solicit patient-reported outcomes (PRO) from pediatric oncology patients at…
Importance: Early palliative care integration for cancer patients is now touted as the optimal care model, yet significant barriers often prevent its implementation. A perceived barrier, especially for pediatric oncology patients, is the notion that…
