STUDY OBJECTIVES: More than two thirds of family members visiting intensive care unit (ICU) patients have symptoms of anxiety or depression during the first days of hospitalization. Identifying determinants of these symptoms would help caregivers…
This article reports on the first stage of a process to develop a clinical performance indicator for a community-based palliative care service that may inform the development of an agreed set of indicators for the whole sector. The study explores…
Introduction: This National Hospital Clinical Research Program (PHRC) was conducted in France between 2012 and 2016 to depict palliative practices in spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA-1). New drugs (Nusinersen) have been developed and may modify…
The death of a child can have a devastating effect on the family. The pediatrician has an important role to play in supporting the parents and any siblings still in his or her practice after such a death. Pediatricians may be poorly prepared to…
A 3-year-old girl with no particular medical history complained of a stomachache and died on the way to the hospital. The autopsy revealed marked right ventricular hypertrophy and dilation with no other cardiac abnormalities. Microscopically, the…
The sudden or anticipated death of a child is one of the most challenging and unique experiences that children's nursing students will encounter in practice. There is evidence to suggest that the effect this can have on a practitioner can affect…
Background The literature reviews show that taking care of dying newborns for a nurse is associated with stress and anxiety, and nurses will be faced with many challenges, the present study aimed to explain the spiritual challenges experienced by…
Social media is an important access point for engagement of children and adolescents. For individuals with a life-limiting illness or serving as the caregiver for an ill child, social media can be a helpful outlet for support and information…
Objective: Our objective was to characterize sleep-disordered breathing in 88 children with achondroplasia aged 1 month to 12.6 years. Results: At the time of their initial polysomnography, five children had previously undergone tracheostomy, and…
Two separate bodies of literature point to the link between family bereavement and cardiovascular health and between sleep quality and cardiovascular outcomes. However, less is known about the joint influence of family bereavement and sleep quality…
Investigators of sibling bereavement contend that the death of a sibling represents a unique and intense loss experience. The empirical literature, however, lacks conceptual clarity about the characteristics of sibling bereavement. Metaphors of…
A comprehensive quantitative review of published randomized controlled outcome studies of grief counseling and therapy suggests that such interventions are typically ineffective, and perhaps even deleterious, at least for persons experiences a normal…
Three assumptions guiding research and clinical intervention strategies for people coping with sudden, traumatic loss are that (a) people confronting such losses inevitably search for meaning, (b) over time most are able to find meaning and put the…
Understanding the significance of rituals at the end-of-life enables health care professionals to offer meaningful and compassionate interventions that enhance quality of life and support those dying and those who grieve. Rituals contribute to the…
Shortness of breath and other respiratory symptoms frequently complicate the symptomatic management of terminally ill adults. The extent of the problem in children is not known, but anecdotal evidence from nurses and physicians experienced in…
An increasing body of research suggests that the death of a child results in a unique form of bereavement for surviving parents. A study reviewed research findings on parental bereavement, including those from the author's ongoing longitudinal study.…
Perinatal loss may deeply affect the attachment relationships of mothers and their next-born children. The aim was to explore the subjective perceptions of mothers, who had fetal death during the first pregnancy, and their adult subsequent firstborn…
While bereavement camps serve as a support for children, this study examines a therapeutic recreation-based camp for families who have lost a child. The study triangulated documents, researcher reflection and staff interviews to highlight the themes…
OBJECTIVE: To describe the reasons for eventual dissatisfaction among the families of patients who died in the intensive care unit (ICU), regarding both the assistance offered during the patient's stay in the hospital and the information received…
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) alone are unlikely to provide reliable estimates of the incidence of rare events because of their limited size. Cohort, case control, and other observational studies have large numbers but are vulnerable to various…
A review of the literature provides the basis for a discussion of the impact of sibling death on healthy children whose emotional needs may be unattended both by parents and professionals. Factors which may deter hospice practitioners from delivering…
This article compares the outcome and predictors of psychosocial distress of parents bereaved by young suicides, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and child accidents. One objective is to explore whether suicide bereavement is more difficult for…
BACKGROUND: In the U.S., more children die from cancer than from any other disease, and more than one third die in the hospital setting. These data have been replicated even in subpopulations of children with cancer enrolled on a palliative care…
OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) for the assessment of causes in nontraumatic deaths in children. STUDY DESIGN: We enrolled cases of nontraumatic deaths of infants and children who underwent PMCT at a…
Providing care to a spouse or partner who is dying and then losing that person are among the most stressful of human experiences. A longitudinal study of the caregiving partners of men with AIDS showed that in addition to intense negative…
Through a focus on one child's extended stay in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, I raise four general questions about pediatric medicine: How should physicians communicate with parents of very sick children? How should physicians involve parents of…
Introduction: Despite significant advances in disease treatment, resources for the pediatric palliative care (PPC) for children with serious illnesses are limited in South Korea. The obstacles to provide optimal PPC include inadequate funding,…
BACKGROUND: With paediatric patients, deciding whether to withhold/withdraw life-sustaining treatments (LST) at the end of life is difficult and ethically sensitive. Little is understood about how and why physicians decide on withholding/withdrawing…
Background: The provision of pediatric palliative care in Asia Pacific varies between countries and availability of essential medications for symptoms at the end of life in this region is unclear. Objective: To determine medications available and…
Background: For children with life-shortening illness, achieving a "good death" can be a tacit goal. There is little understanding of how different stakeholders perceive what a "good death" might be. Objective(s): To review empirical literature to…
Background: How children die in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) has been poorly described, and support for parents during this traumatic experience could be improved. Better information on perceptible signs of the end of life (EOL) in children…
OBJECTIVES: Pediatric residents are expected to be competent in end of life (EOL) care. We aimed to quantify pediatric resident exposure to patient deaths, and the context of these exposures. METHOD(S): Retrospective chart review of all deceased…
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is increasing unmet need for solid organ donation. Alternative donor sources, such as donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD), are needed. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of DCDD…
PURPOSE: Preparing a future nurse to respond to the complex and sensitive needs of a child and family during the end-of-life requires more than didactic content in a classroom. During clinical experiences, students may care for children diagnosed…
Objective: To describe the characteristics of children and adolescentes with chronic diseases of outpatient clinics at a tertiary university hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed with 16,237 patients with chronic diseases…
