PURPOSE: To understand the lived experience of mothers surrounding the time of being informed of neonatal deaths in intensive care units. DESIGN: A phenomenological qualitative approach was employed. METHODS: Twelve mothers (age 24-41 years) were…
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of nurses toward pediatric palliative care (PPC) and examine the impact of an educational program on pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitude regarding PPC for children facing…
Background: This research aimed to survey a sample of nursing students and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students in Jordan about their knowledge of pediatric palliative care (PPC) in the context of treating terminally ill children. Method(s): A…
Background: Our 2012 survey of providers described legacy services offered at children's hospitals nationwide. Since then, the science related to legacy interventions has advanced, resulting in increased recognition of the importance of legacy…
Investigations evaluating the effectiveness of music-based interventions as a complementary approach to symptom management and health promotion for cognitively-impaired children with life-limiting conditions and their families are needed to minimize…
Background: Intensive care doctors have to find the right balance between sharing crucial decisions with families of patients on the one hand and not overburdening them on the other hand. This requires a tailored approach instead of a model based…
A lack of well-structured guideline or care pathway results in inadequate, inconsistent and fragmented palliative care (PC) for babies and their families. The impact on the families could be emotionally and psychologically distressing. Not all…
BACKGROUND: Decision-making in initiating life-sustaining health technology is complex and often conducted at time-critical junctures in clinical care. Many of these decisions have profound, often irreversible, consequences for the child and family,…
Objective: The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of a weekly palliative care-guided, case-based discussion of high-risk infants on Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) physician (MD) and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) perceptions of…
Children with medical complexity (CMC) have been defined (Cohen et al., Pediatrics 127: 529–538, 2011.) as an emerging population potentially eligible for PPC. The current study investigated the prevalence of children with medical complexities…
BACKGROUND: Digital health interventions are becoming increasingly important and may be particularly relevant for paediatric palliative care. In line with the aims of palliative care, digital health interventions should aim to maintain, if not…
This study aimed to explore grandparents' experiences of grief after the death of a grandchild, their perception of socially supportive behavior as well as their satisfaction with a bereavement support care. A six-session bereavement support group…
OBJECTIVES: Partnership with parents is a tenet of pediatric medicine; however, initiatives to include parents in education and research have been limited. Through focus groups, we included parents at the beginning of curriculum development by asking…
INTRODUCTION: Patients in pediatric palliative care (PPC) live with multiple comorbidities which represent a risk factor for severe form of COVID-19. METHODS: This monocentric retrospective study was performed at the PPC Center of Padua (Italy).…
Context: Most pediatric deaths occur in an intensive care unit, and treatment specific predictors of mortality could help clinicians and families make informed decisions. Objective(s): To investigate whether the intensity of vasopressor therapy for…
This study describes the minimum incidence of pediatric complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), clinical features, and treatments recommended by pediatricians and pain clinics in Canada. Participants in the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program…
INTRODUCTION: Transition from paediatric to adult care is a complex process, which poses significant challenges for adolescents with chronic physical and mental illnesses. For many, transfer to adult care is associated with poor health and…
BACKGROUND: Globally, many infants and children are diagnosed with illnesses that impose limitations on their well-being and life course trajectory. Children's care becomes the central focus of family life. Inadequate support for parents is…
CONTEXT: Parents desire more opportunities for advance care planning (ACP), however, large-scale adoption of ACP for seriously ill children remains unrealized. Little is known about current approaches to ACP and strategies to circumvent existing…
The use of advance directives is an important component in helping individuals living with chronic and/or life-threatening illnesses establish goals of care and make decisions regarding care at the end of life. Advance care planning may help achieve…
BACKGROUND: Data on the end-of-life phase of children receiving palliative care are limited. The purpose of this study is to investigate the spectrum of symptoms of terminally ill children, adolescents, and young adults, depending on their underlying…
Children with End Stage Lung Disease (ESLD) are part of the growing population of individuals with life-limiting conditions of childhood. These patients present with a diverse set of pulmonary, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and developmental…
Support workers represent a large proportion of the NHS workforce and yet their supervisory needs are often overlooked. This study focused specifically on a cohort of support workers in a community paediatric palliative care setting. Peer supervision…
Little is known about the development of posttraumatic growth among parents of children with serious advanced disease. The purpose of this study is to describe parental posttraumatic growth 100 days after pediatric stem cell transplant. This is a…
Context : Few studies have explored the impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) on the care of seriously ill children which may be especially affected due to the child's vulnerability, complexity of care, and high reliance on hospital-based…
BACKGROUND: One of the main challenges for paediatric palliative care (PPC) is the management of concomitant, different and severe symptoms that frequently affect the quality of life of PPC patients and are often refractory to commonly used…
BACKGROUND: Palliative care improves the health of children with a life-limiting condition and appears to draw implicitly on concepts shared with a model of health promotion. However, to date there has been no scrutiny about how this relationship may…
Pediatric palliative care (PPC) is different from palliative care (PC) for adults. However, conceptualizing PPC remains cumbersome due to the high heterogeneity of often rare diseases, the high diversity of disease trajectories, and the particular…
Parents who choose to carry a pregnancy complicated by a life-limiting congenital anomaly such as anencephaly may give birth to a live neonate and be discharged home. Very little guidance is available to health care professionals providing palliative…
PURPOSE: Our Home Care Unit (HCU) undertakes close to twenty pediatric palliative care engagements per year. We investigated the factors underlying such care by independent home health nurses. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational,…
Up to 40% of patients cared for by pediatric palliative care teams have severe neurologic impairment (SNI). Children with SNI have congenital/chromosomal, central nervous system static or progressive conditions that result in lifelong cognitive…
Background: Children with severe neurological impairment (SNI) commonly receive care in the hospital setting necessitating frequent interactions with clinicians. Yet, parents report that clinicians often have a limited understanding of their child's…
OBJECTIVES: Children with complex chronic conditions often receive inpatient and end-of-life care in the ICU, yet little is known about the clinical care strategies that best support this unique group of parents. This study aimed to elucidate…
CONTEXT: Parents of children with severe neurologic impairment (SNI) often face high-stakes medical decisions when their child is hospitalized. These decisions involve technology/surgery, goals of care/advance care planning, or transitions of care.…
Objective: To understand what considerations drive family decisions for, and against, pediatric home ventilation. Study design: Qualitative interviews with parents of children who faced a decision about home ventilation in the previous 5 years at 3…
Little is known about the frequency and clinical course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in pediatric patients with severe comorbidities. In this prospective cross-sectional trial, the seroprevalence of…
Background: Many children with serious illnesses are receiving palliative and end-of-life care from pediatric palliative and hospice care teams at home (PPHC@Home). Despite the growth in PPHC@Home, no standardized measures exist to evaluate whether…
CONTEXT: Parents of patients with a serious illness experience psychological distress, which impacts parents' wellbeing and, potentially, their ability to care for their children. Parent psychological distress may be influenced by children's symptom…
OBJECTIVE: Parent engagement in perinatal mortality review meetings following stillbirth may benefit parents and improve patient safety. We investigated perinatal mortality review meeting practices, including the extent of parent engagement, based on…
Objectives: Medical advances have improved survival of critically ill children, increasing the number that have substantial ongoing care needs. The first aim of this study was to compare healthcare utilization of children with complex chronic…
