Grief in children and developmental concepts of death #138
2008
Himebauch A; Arnold RM; May C
Journal Of Palliative Medicine
2008
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2008.9973" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.1089/jpm.2008.9973</a>
Advance care planning in adolescents with cystic fibrosis: A quality improvement project
Advance Care Planning; Attitude To Health; Cystic Fibrosis/th [therapy]; Adolescent; Advance Directives; Cystic Fibrosis/pp [physiopathology]; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; Male; Noninvasive Ventilation; Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; Patient Care Planning; Proxy; Quality Improvement; Severity Of Illness Index; Surveys And Questionnaires; Terminal Care; Young Adult
INTRODUCTION: Advance care planning (ACP), though recommended, has not been studied in adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF). This quality improvement project engaged adolescents with advanced CF disease in ACP and assessed patient and CF provider attitudes and preferences regarding ACP discussions and tools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients <=22 years with advanced CF (FEV<sub>1</sub> <=40% predicted, >2 pulmonary exacerbations requiring IV antibiotics in 1 year, and/or use of home oxygen or non-invasive ventilation) were referred to the pediatric palliative care team (PC). After establishing rapport, ACP was discussed using Voicing My CHOiCESTM: An Advanced Care Planning Guide (VMC). Patients completed a survey assessing attitudes and preferences around ACP. PC also led a training session for CF providers around ACP and VMC and provider attitudes were assessed via a pre- and post-training survey. RESULTS: Twelve patients (mean age 17.9+/-2.2 years) reviewed VMC and completed the ACP survey. The majority (83%) found ACP helpful. None felt it was harmful. All found VMC easy to understand and 90% felt it was appropriate for patients with CF. Of participating CF providers (pre-training, n=6; post-training, n=7), 83% found ACP worthwhile, but desired more training in this area. All found the training session useful and felt VMC was appropriate for patients with CF. DISCUSSION: Adolescents with advanced CF disease felt ACP was a positive experience and not harmful. CF providers valued ACP, but desired more training. Both patients and providers felt that VMC was a useful, disease-appropriate tool. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2016;51:1304-1310. � 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Kazmerski TM; Weiner DJ; Matisko J; Schachner D; Lerch W; May C; Maurer SH
Pediatric Pulmonology
2016
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.23559" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.1002/ppul.23559</a>
Pediatric Palliative Care: A Five-Year Retrospective Chart Review Study
Child; Life Limiting; Life Threatening; Palliative Care; Patient Survival; Pediatric
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; to examine the associations between demographics and clinical characteristics and patient survival; and to examine whether average daily pain decreases after referral. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review of all children ages 2-16 years referred to palliative care at one large children's hospital during the five-year study period from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2013. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was patient survival and the main independent predictor was type of illness. Kaplan-Meier estimation was used to estimate patient survival time following referral, Cox proportional hazards regression was used to build predictive models based on gender, age, race, religion, and types of illnesses, and paired t-test compared the assessment of pain before and after referral. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 256 children. Survival experience did not differ significantly based on gender, age, race, or religion (p ≥ 0.05); however, survival did vary based on referring diagnosis (χ2 = 40.3, df = 4, p < 0.001), particularly cancer. Forty-eight children with three days of pain assessments pre- and postreferral had significantly decreased pain postreferral (t(47) = 1.816, p < 0.05 one tailed), supporting our hypothesis. DISCUSSION: Results provide important information on the complexity of disease processes for children referred to palliative care, types of illnesses referred, survival, and pain levels. Results reflect earlier referral to palliative care for most children and highlight the medical complexity especially for children with congenital and genetic diagnoses.
Thrane SE; Maurer SH; Cohen SM; May C; Sereika SM
Journal Of Palliative Medicine
2017
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2017.0038" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.1089/jpm.2017.0038</a>