BACKGROUND: 8,600 children are eligible for palliative care services each day in the US, yet many pediatric residents and pediatricians do not feel comfortable providing palliative/end of life care. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a palliative…
BACKGROUND: Pain is common during cancer treatment, and patient self-reporting of pain is an essential first step for ideal cancer pain management. However, many studies on cancer pain management report that, because pain may be underestimated, it is…
BACKGROUND: While there has been a rapid increase of inpatient palliative care (PC) programs, the financial and clinical benefits have not been well established. OBJECTIVE: Determine the effect of an inpatient PC consultation service on costs and…
The principle of double effect is used to justify the administration of medication to relieve pain even though it may lead to the unintended, although foreseen, consequence of hastening death by causing respiratory depression. Although a review of…
This report describes the multiple complementary analytic methods used to create a composite evaluation of the benefits of a hospital-based inpatient palliative care consultation service at Montefiore Medical Center in its preliminary phase. We…
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to report the benefits and burdens of palliative research participation on children, siblings, parents, clinicians, and researchers. BACKGROUND: Pediatric palliative care requires research to mature the science and…
Background: Children in rural geographies are not universally able to access pediatric-trained palliative or hospice providers. Objective(s): Determine whether telehealth inclusion of a familiar pediatric palliative care provider during the first two…
BACKGROUND: Systematic symptom assessment is not a standard of care in children with cancer. Many well-known symptom assessment tools are lengthy or difficult to integrate into a daily pediatric palliative care practice. We created a series of brief…
Abstract Background: Proxy reporting is frequently used to assess symptom distress of patients with advanced chronic organ failure. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to examine agreement in severity of symptom distress, presence of…
BACKGROUND: Palliative care unit (PCU) beds are a limited resource in Canada, so PCU admission is restricted to patients with a short prognosis. Anecdotally, PCUs further restrict admission of patients with noncancer diagnoses out of fear that they…
Abstract Background: There is growing interest in the interface between palliative care and other medical specialties, yet little is known about decision-making processes characterizing such collaborations. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham…
The purposes of this study were to describe the experiences of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) staff caring for a child who dies, and to determine whether responses included unprompted indications of moral distress as described in the…
Abstract Aims: To determine the spirituality of parents whose children have life-limiting illnesses and to determine the factors associated with parents' spirituality. Methods: Telephone survey of 129 parents whose children were enrolled in a…
Abstract Objectives: In Germany since 2007 children with advanced life-limiting diseases are eligible for Pediatric Palliative Home Care (PPHC), which is provided by newly established specialized PPHC teams. The objective of this study was to…
Background: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) affects nearly 1400 new children each year in the United States. Morbidity and mortality rates remain high for pediatric patients with ESRD, including those that have received a renal transplant. Objective:…
Background: Children and adolescents with serious conditions may benefit from simultaneous hospice and palliative care. Although the Affordable Care Act covers concurrent care, uptake has been limited. Limited descriptive data exist on receiving…
Abstract Background: The experiences of young people who have siblings with life-limiting illnesses are not well understood. Aim: The study proposed to identify the concerns of siblings of pediatric palliative care (PPC) patients. Design and…
Abstract Background: Despite parent and physician reports of inadequate skill development, there are few guidelines for training the pediatric care team in sharing life-altering information (SLAI), i.e., "breaking bad news." The necessary skills for…
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…
Background: Buprenorphine is an opioid medication used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. In Canada, buprenorphine is not indicated for use in the pediatric population and literature surrounding its use in pediatrics is limited. Our aim…
Background: Rady Children's Hospital (RCH) offers an outpatient pediatric palliative clinic that began offering telepalliative care in 2016. Objectives: This study describes demographics of parents receiving pediatric telepalliative care,…
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Very little information exists on the number of resources utilized by individuals living with and dying of pediatric life-threatening diseases (LTDs). This study quantifies end of life (EOL) resource utilization among the…
BACKGROUND: In questionnaire-based research, human subject protection committees must assess the emotional impact of the study on participants. Without clear data about the risks and benefits of participating in such studies, however, review board…
Abstract Background: The majority of young people in need of palliative care live in low- and middle-income countries, where curative treatment is less available. Objective: We systematically reviewed published data describing palliative care…
Background: Pediatric patients often undergo surgery during terminal admissions. However, the involvement and timing of palliative care consults in caring for these patients has not been readily described. Objective: To describe the presence and…
PURPOSE: In February 2002, the palliative care team was established in Ikeda Municipal Hospital to improve palliative care. We investigated changes in the incidences of side effects related to opioids, and evaluated palliative care team activities.…
A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience as Master of Social Work (MSW) at the Division of Comfort and Palliative Care at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, California.
BACKGROUND: The growth of palliative care research has been limited by challenges of slow recruitment and underenrollment. One potential solution to this problem is the use of screening questions embedded in clinical data collection, which identify…
Background: Legacy-making (actions/behaviors aimed at being remembered) may be a significant component for quality of life (QOL) during advanced illness and end of life. Although legacy interventions have been tested in adults, the impact of legacy…
Background: Legacy-making (actions/behaviors aimed at being remembered) may be a significant component for quality of life (QOL) during advanced illness and end of life. Although legacy interventions have been tested in adults, the impact of legacy…
Background: Prior work in adult oncology suggests minority patients are less involved in decision making than preferred. However, few studies have explored decision-making experiences of minority parents in pediatric oncology. Objective: To determine…
