BACKGROUND:
Staff who provide end-of-life care to children not only have to deal with their own sense of loss but also that of bereaved families. There is a dearth of knowledge on how they cope with these challenges.
AIM:
The aim of this review is to…
Editorial - The evidence base underpinning paediatric palliative care (PPC) needs to be expanded and be made robust if advances in practice and reduction in suffering are to be achieved. While current guidance1 emphasises the need to include children…
Pediatric medicine increasingly has recognized the value of integrating behavioral health in medical care, but this trend has not yet extended to pediatric palliative care. Results from a recent survey of pediatric palliative care programs across the…
BACKGROUND:
In Canada and other developed countries, the majority of neonatal deaths occur in tertiary neonatal intensive care units. Most deaths occur following the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments.
AIM:
To explore neonatal death events and…
BACKGROUND:
An order protocol for distress (OPD), including respiratory distress and acute pain crisis, has been established for pediatric palliative care patients at Sainte-Justine Hospital (SJH). After discussion with the patient/his or her family,…
BACKGROUND:
Experiential studies in paediatric palliative care are needed to enable an ongoing international agenda which supports the development of responsive family supports.
AIM:
To provide an in-depth exploration of the prevalent lived…
BACKGROUND:
Congenital anomalies account for 20% of neonatal and infant deaths in the United States. Perinatal palliative care is a recent addition to palliative care and is meant to meet the needs of families who choose to continue a pregnancy…
BACKGROUND:
Palliative care guidelines recommend plain radiographs to assess constipation based on the presumption that visible fecal shadowing represents stool retention. Despite this, using plain radiographs in this way is not well…
BACKGROUND:
Religion and spirituality influence how many patients and families experience illness, but knowledge of the level of spiritual care provided to caregivers of pediatric patients within the hospital is limited.
BACKGROUND:
Pediatric palliative care focuses on caring for children who are seriously ill and their families. These children are often attended to by many other providers who face various challenges as they support these families. Issues involving…
BACKGROUND:
With improvements in pediatric care and technology, more young adults (YAs) with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) are surviving into adulthood. However, they have limited expectations to live beyond the first decade of adulthood. This…
BACKGROUND:
Pediatric advance care planning is advocated by healthcare providers because it may increase the chance that patient and/or parent wishes are respected and thus improve end-of-life care. However, since end-of-life decisions for children…
BACKGROUND:
The number of children worldwide requiring palliative care services is increasing due to advances in medical care and technology. The use of outcome measures is important to improve the quality and effectiveness of care.
AIM:
To…
BACKGROUND:
Perinatal palliative care (PPC) programs are proliferating nationwide, but little is known about their structure, process, or desired outcomes, to inform future program development.
OBJECTIVE:
To explicate structure, processes, and…
The goal of this study was to explore nurse experiences in communication with children about spiritual topics in order to develop training in this area.
BACKGROUND:
Although spiritual care is essential in pediatric palliative care, few providers…
As the field of Pediatric Palliative Care continues to develop, it is important to consider the scope of practice and the utility of collaboration with other specialties, including child and adolescent psychiatry. The integration of psychiatry and…
OBJECTIVE:
Many children who die are eligible for hospice enrollment but little is known about parental perceptions of the hospice experience, the benefits, and disappointments. The objective of this study was to explore parental perspectives of the…
Background: Studies have shown that pediatricians in all stages of training are uncomfortable managing patients at end of life. Our goal was to create and test a portable reference card to improve pediatric resident education in comprehensive care…
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: The Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for improvement in education and training of pediatricians in pediatric palliative care (PPC). Given the shortage of PPC physicians and the immediate need for PPC…
BACKGROUND: Although the role of pediatric palliative care (PPC) is well described in oncology, neonatal, and pediatric intensive care patients, the involvement of PPC in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) is not well explored. CHD is a…
Background: Over 42,000 children die each year in the United States, including many with multiple complex chronic conditions (MCCCs), but little is known about whether the presence of MCCCs influences families to utilize pediatric hospice care.…
BACKGROUND: Children's books have the potential to facilitate communication about death for children living with a serious illness and for children coping with the death of a loved one. OBJECTIVES: This study examines the content of children's…
Background: Alternative locations for children near end of life (EOL) are lacking in the United States with deaths largely occurring within intensive care units (ICUs). The reflection room (RR) was implemented as a relevant space for providing this…
Palliative medicine is a widely established field acquiring acceptance nationally in in hospitals and gaining momentum culturally as we care for more patients with complex chronic illness. The challenge is no longer whether or not high-quality…
BACKGROUND: Pediatric fellows receive little palliative care (PC) education and have few opportunities to practice communication skills. OBJECTIVE: In this pilot study, we assessed (1) the relative effectiveness of simulation-based versus didactic…
OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: Few previous studies have explored how pediatric palliative care (PPC) influences hospital utilization. We evaluated this among PPC recipients in a single center. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of 109 patients…
The death of a child alters the life and health of others immediately and for the rest of their lives. How a child dies influences parents' abilities to continue their role functions as well as siblings' abilities to make and maintain friendships,…
BACKGROUND: Written resources in adult intensive care have been shown to benefit families facing end of life (EoL) decisions. There are few resources for parents making EoL decisions for their child and no existing resources addressing ethical…
BACKGROUND: More children are living with serious illness. However, survival and complexity of illnesses have not been described. OBJECTIVE: To describe types of illnesses, timing of referral, and time to death following referral to palliative care;…
BACKGROUND: Children receiving hospice and palliative care (HPC) differ from adults in important ways. Children are more likely to have rare diagnoses, less likely to have cancer, have longer lengths of stay on hospice, and are more likely to be…
Objective: To report a finding of a severe lack of social support with potential for serious harm during the course of a pediatric advanced care planning study. Method: A longitudinal, single-blinded, multisite randomized controlled trial, conducted…
BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of research evidence to guide health care providers' practice in pediatric palliative care. At the same time, some clinicians and Institutional Review Boards are reluctant to approve such studies because of concerns…
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.
