OBJECTIVE: Little is known about factors that influence whether children with chronic conditions die at home. We sought to test whether deaths attributable to underlying complex chronic conditions (CCCs) were increasingly occurring at home and to…
The rejection of reliability and validity in qualitative inquiry in the 1980s has resulted in an interesting shift for "ensuring rigor" from the investigator's actions during the course of the research, to the reader or consumer of qualitative…
BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Non-communicating Children's Pain Checklist-Postoperative Version (NCCPC-PV) when used with children with severe intellectual disabilities. METHODS: The caregivers of 24 children…
New regulatory initiatives have been designed to ensure that new drugs and biologicals include adequate pediatric labeling for the claimed indications at the time of, or soon after, approval. However, because such labeling may not immediately be…
The use of standardized patients (SPs) is an emerging strategy in palliative care education. We have used this strategy to provide pediatric residents with a structured educational experience focused on effectively communicating bad news and…
Methadone is not a new analgesic drug [69]. Several studies have demonstrated that methadone is a valid alternative to morphine, hydromorphone, and fentanyl for the treatment of cancer-related pain, and extensive reviews on the subject have been…
Cachexia, i.e. body wasting, has long been recognised as a serious complication of chronic illness. The occurrence of wasting in chronic heart failure (CHF) has been known for many centuries, but it has not been investigated extensively until…
Background: Although physical features, including loss of hand skills, deceleration of head growth, spasticity and scoliosis, are cardinal features of Rett syndrome (RS), a number of behavioural features are also associated with the disorder,…
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify the relationship between plasma B-endorphin (objective variable) and the dimensions of the Chinese Cancer Pain Assessment Tool (CCPAT) (subjective variables). The dimensions included funcitonal,…
Systematic assessment of the effect of clinical research studies on child and parent participants has been limited. Such assessment could provide an empirical basis for the ethical conduct of research, assisting investigators and institutional review…
This prospective study of consecutive patients describes the palliative medicine consult service in a tertiary level cancer center and its impact on patient care. All inpatients/outpatients referred to the Palliative Medicine Program in a 4-month…
Morphine is the strong opioid of choice in the management of moderate-to-severe chronic cancer pain. The preferred route of administration is oral, in individually titrated doses, regularly scheduled around the clock We conducted a retrospective…
The objective of this study was to determine whether having a hospice unit within the hospital increases the proportion of terminally ill patients who use hospice services (including home, nursing home, or inpatient hospice) post-admission. Using…
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of hand splints and one elbow restraint on persistent stereotypic hand movements of four girls with Rett's syndrome. Among the most characteristic features of Rett's syndrome are stereotypic hand…
A previous study found that parents of communicatively impaired children with severe cognitive impairments identified six core cues as indicating definite or severe pain in their child (J. Pediatr. Psychol. 27 (2002) 209). The frequency of each cue…
The belief that loss can result in growth has been hypothesized for centuries.Yet, traditional grief theories have viewed grief work as a process of resolving grief and returning to normal. Formal conceptualizations of grief to growth models have…
OBJECTIVES: To measure the effect of telephone reminders on adolescent clinic attendance. METHODS: Clinic bookings of adolescents were randomly assigned to either a telephone reminder one day prior to their appointment, or a routine booking (no…
This article explores the concepts of narrative as story, of storytelling, and of the narrative approach to qualitative research. Within this, I will also examine the social nature of narrative and the implications of this for research. I will look…
BACKGROUND: Sleep problems are common among children with intellectual disability (ID). METHOD: The present study assessed the prevalence of severe sleep problems in a sample of children (n=286) with mild to profound ID who lived at home with their…
Sanfilippo syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type III) is the commonest mucoploysaccharidosis. It causes neurodegeneration with often profound sleep and behavioral disturbance. Management of the sleep disturbance is difficult and inconsistent. In this…
Sanfilippo syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type III) is the commonest mucoploysaccharidosis. It causes neurodegeneration with often profound sleep and behavioral disturbance. Management of the sleep disturbance is difficult and inconsistent. In this…
Researchers have argued that individuals who show self-restraint are more likely to show self-injurious behavior (SIB) that is compulsive. Self-injurious behavior, self-restraint, and compulsive behaviors have been described as features of Cornelia…
BACKGROUND: Atypical antipsychotic agents, which block postsynaptic dopamine and serotonin receptors, have advantages over traditional antipsychotic medications in the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and may be beneficial in children with…
The concordance of nasal compared with nasopharyngeal swabs was assessed for the diagnosis of respiratory viral infections, and the degree of discomfort associated with each procedure was compared. The use of nasal swabs was shown to be as accurate…
