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Background: Infants with life-limiting conditions are a heterogeneous population. Palliative care for infants is delivered in a diverse range of healthcare settings and by interdisciplinary primary healthcare teams, which may not involve specialist…
BACKGROUND: Children with a life-limiting condition often require extensive and complex care, much of which is provided by their parents at home. There is a growing body of research that aims to understand the experiences of these parents, but the…
Background Adolescents with long term conditions are recognised to have unique needs and to experience particular health risks as they transfer to adult services. Some young people with complex neuro-disability may live years following transfer to…
Background Children with life-limiting conditions are living longer, so relationships between nurses and families can span decades (Maunder 2013)2. Although long-term relationships between nurses and children/families in paediatric palliative care…
BACKGROUND: Poor psychological well-being among healthcare staff has implications for staff sickness and absence rates, and impacts on the quality, cost and safety of patient care. Although numerous studies have explored the well-being of hospice…
OBJECTIVES: Paediatric patients with leukaemia with relapse or induction failure have poor prognosis. Anticipated quality of life (QoL) is important in treatment decision making. The objective was to determine if curative intent at relapse or…
Despite improvements in survival, cancer remains the leading cause of non-accidental death in children and adolescents, who risk receiving high-intensity end-of-life (HI-EOL) care. OBJECTIVE: To analyse treatments for relapses (particularly in the…
Background Estimating the local population needs for children's palliative care services can prove challenging. Data has shown that most children die in hospital and not all children with life-limiting conditions (LLC) are known to local hospices at…
After death care is an essential service offered by paediatric hospices in the time between the death of a child and their funeral or care being transferred to a funeral home. This service allows families time together, privacy and memory making…
There have been multiple recent reports regarding the inequalities in palliative and end of life care for people with learning disabilities; but little if any attention paid to the role of learning disability nurses working in palliative care.…
Background The transition process from paediatric to adult hospice care is uniquely challenging for young adults living with non-malignant life-limiting conditions as they are often declining in health with increasing dependence on their families for…
Background More young people with complex life-limiting conditions are living into adulthood, generating greater demand for appropriate care (Fraser, Gibson-Smith, Jarvis, et al., 2021. Palliat Med. 35:1641). We implemented Project ECHO (Extension of…
Background More young adults with life-limiting conditions are surviving into adulthood needing adult palliative care (Gibson- Smith, Jarvis, Norman et al., 2021). The evidence on appropriate service models is sparse (Clark & Fasciano, 2015. Am J…
Background The hospice recognised a gap in services for patients, relatives and carers aged 18-30 and that services should be more age appropriate (Smith, Mooney, Cable, & Taylor (eds.). Teenage Cancer Trust, 2016). In addition, young people are…
Background Memory making is the process of creating mementos of a child with a life-limiting condition, who may be at or near end of life, providing a tangible and visual connection to the child who has died. Acorns memory making work already…
Background: It is essential that the physical environments in which inpatient palliative care is provided support the needs of patients and the facilitate the multidimensional delivery of palliative care. This review aims to identify the features and…
BACKGROUND: Paediatric palliative care provides supportive care to children with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses throughout the disease trajectory. Up to 42% of children receiving palliative care in Canada will die within a freestanding…
Background: Advance care planning is considered best practice for children and young people with life-limiting conditions but there is limited evidence how parents' perceive, understand and engage with the process. Aim(s): To understand parents'…
There is a paucity of evidence on the role, use, benefit and challenges of artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) in children at end of life. Parents express the difficulty they face with making the decision to withdraw ANH. Decision-making on the…
OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of bereavement support interventions (BSIs) for parents of an infant or a child who has died from a medical condition or in unforeseen circumstances. METHODS: A systematic search of…