OBJECTIVE: To assess how physicians and families understand quality of life (QOL) for NICU patients, and to explore the feasibility of developing a standardized definition for QOL. STUDY DESIGN: Surveys were developed and administered to…
OBJECTIVE: To assess differences in prolonged grief, depression, posttraumatic stress, and sleep disturbances in bereaved parents across years since loss (1-5 years) and by gender and to assess potential interactive effects of time since loss and…
OBJECTIVE: To analyze evidence capable of supporting best practices available in the literature to create dialogues about organ and tissue donation with parents of deceased children and adolescents. METHODS: An integrative literature review performed…
Objectives: To describe and compare characteristics of care provided at the end of life for children with chronic complex conditions and neonates who died in an ICU with those who died outside an ICU. Design: Substudy of a nation-wide retrospective…
BACKGROUND: Societal attitudes about end-of-life events are at odds with how, where, and when children die. In addition, parents' ideas about what constitutes a "good death" in a pediatric intensive care unit vary widely. OBJECTIVE: To synthesize…
Background: Pediatric palliative care occurs across contexts through the child's illness trajectory, including within the child or young person's community. Interactions with the ambulance service may occur with a child's deterioration, crisis, or…
BACKGROUND: Parents have a constitutionally-protected, fundamental right to make decisions concerning the health and well-being of their children, afforded by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, parental rights are not…
Introduction: Due to the increased survival of children with chronic and complex diseases, transferring a part of care provision to home and harnessing the family’s potential with the aim of shortening the length of stay and returning the child to…
Children's hospices are key players in the provision of palliative care services for families with children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs). However, evidence suggests that some of the negative terminology/language which surrounds the notions of…
BACKGROUND: Best practice in perinatal bereavement care suggests offering parents the opportunity to spend time with their baby. Cold cots facilitate this purpose by reducing the deterioration of the body and evidence indicates their wide…
Background: Children and families in pediatric palliative care depend on close contact with health care personnel, and electronic health (eHealth) is suggested to support care at home by facilitating their remote interactions. Objective: This study…
Context Specialized pediatric palliative care (SPPC) is increasingly involved in the care of seriously ill children, yet the evidence on its impact has not been comprehensively reviewed. Objective The objective of this study was to assess the effects…
BACKGROUND: Phase of Illness is used to describe the stages of a patient's illness in the palliative care setting. Categorization is based on individual needs, family circumstances, and the adequacy of a care plan. Substantial (κ = .67) and moderate…
Background: Communication between clinicians and families of dying children in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is critically important for optimal care of the child and the family. Objective: We examined the current state of clinician…
BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults undergoing heart transplantation experience risks of morbidity and mortality both pre- and post-transplant. To improve end-of-life care for this population, it is necessary to understand their medical and…
AIM: To explore and compare acute and long-term care professionals' perspectives about paediatric palliative care. METHODS: Focus group interviews were conducted in 2016-2017 with professionals from acute (Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit)…
OBJECTIVES: Describe pediatric palliative care consult in children with heart disease; retrospectively apply Center to Advance Palliative Care criteria for pediatric palliative care consults; determine the impact of pediatric palliative care on end…
Spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA-1) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder, which in the absence of curative treatment, leads to death before 1 year of age in most cases. Caring for these short-lived and severely impaired infants requires…
To enhance understanding of parental relationships following the loss of a child, a questionnaire was sent to members of Norwegian bereavement support organizations. The sample consisted of 175 couples. Using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), we…
BACKGROUND: Stillbirth and neonatal death are one of the most stressful life events, with negative outcomes for parents. Society does not recognize this type of loss, and parental grieving is particularly complicated and intense. PURPOSE: The aim of…
Background: Reminiscence is used in a range of different interventions in palliative care, for example, Dignity Therapy or Life Review. However, literature has focused mainly on the methodology, and little has been published on patients' priorities…
BACKGROUND: Despite advances in medical care, pediatric deaths are still an unfortunate reality. Most of these deaths occur within a hospital setting. End-of-life care is an important part of medical care for children with serious illnesses. Despite…
Purpose: Pediatric patients (pt) awaiting heart transplantation (HTX) are among the most fragile patients, even more so when on continuous milrinone infusion or ventricular assist device (VAD). These pt are often in the hospital for very long periods…
Advance care planning enables parents to discuss goals and preferences for future care and treatment of their seriously ill child. Although clinicians report parental factors as common barriers for advance care planning, parental views on reflecting…
BACKGROUND: Palliative care is becoming an important component for infants with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and their families. Yet palliative care practices appear to be inconsistent and sporadically used for infants. PURPOSE: The…
