BACKGROUND: Parents of babies diagnosed with life limiting conditions in the perinatal period face numerous challenges. Considerations include the remainder of the pregnancy, delivery of the baby and decisions around care in the neonatal period. AIM:…
PURPOSE: This phenomenological analysis was conducted to explore the experiences of college student volunteers in the field of pediatric palliative care. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with nine study participants who had experience…
OBJECTIVE: To assess the involvement of volunteers with direct patient/family contact in UK palliative care services for children and young people. METHOD: Cross-sectional survey using a web-based questionnaire. SETTING: UK specialist paediatric…
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the variables influencing end-of-life care in children and adolescents dying of cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Records of 146 children with cancer who died at Children's Hospital were reviewed for…
BACKGROUND: Continuity of care is a key component of care in complex and chronic conditions. Despite its importance, it is often absent in chronic-disease management. One challenge has been identifying tools to measure care continuity. In one context…
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…
In areas where there are absences of pediatric hospice care, adult hospices are often asked to provide hospice care for children. Little is known about these adult hospices. The purpose of our study was to describe the characteristics of adult…
The importance of allowing bereaved siblings the opportunity to be involved and mourn the loss of a sibling family member has gained increasing recognition. Child family members may need support in the same way that parents might need support to cope…
BACKGROUND: Caring for the bereaved is an intrinsic part of intensive care practice with family bereavement support an important aspect of the nursing role at end of life. However, reporting on provision of intensive care family bereavement support…
OBJECTIVES: To explore experiences of pediatric clinicians participating in a serious illness communication program (SICP) for advance care planning (ACP), examining how the SICP supports clinicians to improve their communication and the challenges…
Background: Children suffering from adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) requires life-long care. Little is known about the care needs of parents of ALD children at different stages of their disease. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the…
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…
Context California implemented pediatric palliative care legislations that allowed children to receive curative and supportive care from diagnosis of a life-threatening serious illness in 2010. Palliative care policies may improve access to hospice…
Pediatric palliative care physicians have an ethical duty to care for the families of children with life-threatening conditions through their illness and bereavement. This duty is predicated on 2 important factors: (1) best interest of the child and…
Background/Objectives: Despite the dramatically improved outcomes for pediatric cancer patients, cancer is the leading cause of death in Taiwan, accounting for 21.8% of death in 2014. The pediatric end-of-life (EOF) care has not been extensively…
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: Specialist paediatric palliative care services are promoted as an important component of palliative care provision, but there is uncertainty about their role for children with cancer. Aim(s): To examine the impact of specialist paediatric…
Care after the death of a child and support of their bereaved family is an important element of the services offered by children's hospices in the United Kingdom. The study aims to explore the emotional challenges of those delivering…
BACKGROUND: In 2020, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care redefined palliative care to incorporate the concept of serious health-related suffering. An estimated 21 million children globally live with conditions which would…
OBJECTIVE: To describe our institutional experience with a four-week pediatric HPM elective rotation and its impact on residents' self-rated competencies. BACKGROUND: In the spirit of bolstering primary hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) skills of…
Objective: Controlling seizures in children approaching death is often challenging. The evidence base to guide best practice is limited. We aimed to compare our current practice against the guidance for seizure management produced by the Association…
Background: Palliative care is an important component of health care in pandemics, contributing to symptom control, psychological support, and supporting triage and complex decision making. Aim(s): To examine preparedness for, and impact of, the…
BACKGROUND: Hospice is an important provider of end of life care. Adult minorities are less likely to enroll on hospice; little is known regarding the prevalence of pediatric hospice use or the characteristics of its users. Our primary objective was…
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…
BACKGROUND: Accurate prognostication of the trajectory of an illness provides multiple benefits in end-of-life care. Prognostic information facilitates more realistic decision making regarding ongoing treatment, fosters risk-benefit considerations of…
This paper reports the findings from a Delphi Study undertaken to identify the research priorities in children's palliative care in Ireland. Palliative care for children is a small and highly specialised field of healthcare that focuses on improving…
OBJECTIVES: Identifying the preferred place of death for children/young people with cancer and determining whether this is achieved is pertinent to inform palliative care service provision. The aims of this retrospective case series review were to…
For the first time since he was born, we looked at our son as a baby who had withstood endless medical interventions. Rather than taking each new diagnosis in stride, we stopped to reflect. [...]
The American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM) was formed in 1995 to establish and implement standards for certification of physicians practicing hospice and palliative medicine and, ultimately, accreditation of physician training in…
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…
OBJECTIVE: Ensure access to perinatal palliative care (PnPC) to all eligible fetuses/infants/parents. DESIGN: During 12 meetings in 2016, a multidisciplinary work-group (WG) performed literature review (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment,…
Percutaneous cordotomy using CT guidance has been shown to be a safe and effective means of reducing pain in adults with cancer in 2 large case series. Its effectiveness in pediatric patients, however, has not been reported. Here, the authors present…
Palliative care has always been a part of the care of children. It includes any intervention that focuses on relieving suffering, slowing the progression of disease, and improving quality of life at any stage of disease. In addition, for even the…
BACKGROUND: Pediatric palliative care (PPC) programs facilitate the provision of comprehensive care to seriously ill children. Over the past 10 years many such programs have been initiated by children’s hospitals, but little is known about their…
Pediatric palliative care and pediatric hospice care (PPC-PHC) are often essential aspects of medical care for patients who have life-threatening conditions or need end-of-life care. PPC-PHC aims to relieve suffering, improve quality of life,…
OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of the health economic evidence on the care of children and adolescents with complex clinical conditions, comparing groups included and not included (control group) in palliative care at the end of life. DATA…
