BACKGROUND: Paediatric palliative care is a nuanced area of practice with additional complexities in the context of intellectual disability. There is currently minimal research to guide clinicians working in this challenging area of care. METHOD:…
OBJECTIVE: Discussing the potential deterioration of a child who has a life-limiting condition has recognised benefits for future care, but can be challenging in a clinical context where uncertain illness trajectories are common. Existing research is…
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common life-limiting genetic conditions. Ellen Bolton (not her real name) is a teenager with one of the rarer presentations of CF. This case study explores the experiences of Ellen and her family. It discusses…
Neurological symptoms are very common in children with life-limiting conditions and are challenging in terms of burden of illness. Moreover, neurological symptoms can significantly impact the child's quality of life and contribute to distress among…
BACKGROUND: A multidisciplinary outpatient clinic at a tertiary care children's hospital supported and staffed by a children's hospice was created to enhance and expand the inpatient palliative care services available to families of children with…
OBJECTIVE: This mixed-methods study set in the West Midlands region of the UK demonstrates the effectiveness of Q methodology in examining general practitioners' (GPs') perception of their role in children's oncology palliative care. METHODS: Using…
Introduction: In certain patients, "directives on the adequacy of therapeutic effort" (DAET) known as advanced care planning are important tools to align medical care to patient's and family's objectives of care. Purpose: To describe characteristics…
BACKGROUND: Around the world, different models of paediatric palliative care have responded to the unique needs of children with life shortening conditions. However, research confirming their utility and impact is still lacking. This study compared…
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and acute injury in adolescents. METHODS: An analysis of cross-sectional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) Cycle 3.1 collected by Statistics Canada in 2005 was…
OBJECTIVES: Typically pediatric end-of-life decision-making studies have examined the decision-making process, factors, and doctors' and parents' roles. Less attention has focussed on what happens after an end-of-life decision is made; that is,…
Studies indicate research ethics committee (REC) approval and clinician gatekeeping are two key barriers in recruiting children and young people (CYP) with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) and life-threatening illnesses (LTIs) and their families to…
Studies indicate research ethics committee (REC) approval and clinician gatekeeping are two key barriers in recruiting children and young people (CYP) with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) and life-threatening illnesses (LTIs) and their families to…
OBJECTIVES: Following publication of detailed national neonatal palliative care guidance, practical regional guidance, in the form of multidisciplinary 'checklists', was implemented aiming to improve the quality of neonatal palliative care. METHODS:…
BACKGROUND:: There is a lack of appropriate, validated person-centred outcome measures (PCOM) for paediatric palliative care in the scientific literature, and as a result there is not a tool to drive and evaluate care of children and young people.…
Parenting and providing extensive care to a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening disease while being aware of the future loss of the child are among the most stressful parental experiences. Due to technical and medical improvements,…
Education is integral to the development of children's palliative care (CPC) globally; thus, the International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) developed a training programme including face-to-face and e-learning programmes to increase…
BACKGROUND: Children with serious illness who receive hospice care often interface with nurses who lack training, experience and comfort in the provision of paediatric palliative and hospice care. Hospice nurse preferences for paediatric-specific…
Objectives To review literature relating to evidence, context and facilitation to describe knowledge translation in paediatric palliative care. Paediatric palliative care requires competences including both paediatric specialists as well as services…
Adolescents who face life-limiting illness have unique developmental features and strong personal preferences around end of life (EOL) care. Understanding and documenting those preferences can be enhanced by practising narrative medicine. This paper…
BACKGROUND: Paediatric life-limiting and life-threatening conditions (life-limiting conditions) place significant strain on children, families and health systems. Given high service use among this population, it is essential that care addresses their…
BACKGROUND: Mothers and fathers are severely challenged when providing care for their terminally ill child at end of life. Caregiving needs have been studied predominantly in mothers. Differences in caregiving needs between mothers and fathers during…
Objective The prevalence of life-limiting conditions in children in Australia is unknown; such data are needed to inform health service planning for paediatric palliative care. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of life-limiting…
CONTEXT: Supporting spiritual needs is a well-established aspect of palliative care, but no data exist regarding how physicians engage with patients and families around spirituality during care conferences in paediatric intensive care units (PICU).…
AIM: To assess clinicians' experience, attitudes and confidence with advance care planning (ACP) at a quaternary paediatric referral centre using a learning-needs survey, and then apply this information to develop and examine the feasibility of…
AIMS: To evaluate how nurses cope with the death of a paediatric patient, relate it to the different sociodemographic variables, and to describe personal coping strategies used by nurses in managing the process and accepting the death of the patient.…
BACKGROUND: Childhood bereavement after sibling death is common, but often unrecognized. The psychosomatic and socioeconomic outcomes of bereaved children can be compromised if appropriate care is unavailable during the formative years leading into…
BACKGROUND: Health service planning in paediatric palliative care is complex, with the diverse geographical and demographic characteristics adding to the challenge of developing services across different nations. Accurate and reliable data are…
BACKGROUND: The availability of interventions for bereaved parents have increased. However, most are practice based. To enhance the implementation of bereavement care for parents, an overview of interventions which are replicable and evidence-based…
INTRODUCTION: Benefits of integrated care include improved health outcomes and more satisfaction with experiences of care for consumers. For children and young people with chronic and complex health conditions, their care may be fragmented due to the…
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…
OBJECTIVE: To systematically review and synthesise qualitative research exploring parents/carers' experiences of seeking online information and support for long-term physical childhood conditions. DESIGN: Systematic review and thematic synthesis of…
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the views and experiences of general practice of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, and their family members, through secondary analysis of a qualitative serial interview study. Thematic analysis…
BACKGROUND: Effective communication is a cornerstone of quality paediatric palliative care. Families report struggling, however, to know what to discuss, with whom, and when. Although question prompt lists exist for adult palliative care, they do not…
The centralization of paediatric critical care services in most developed countries has seen an increase in the need for critically unwell and traumatically injured children to be transported for definitive care. This, in combination with the rising…
BACKGROUND: Children with life-limiting conditions have a high risk of colonisation with a multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO). To avoid the spread of hospital-aquired infections to other patients, children with a MDRO are moved to an isolated room…
Objective: To inform clinical practice by describing a model of perinatal palliative care delivery within a fully staffed fetal health center (FHC) inside a freestanding children's hospital. Study design: The team conducted a retrospective chart…
Background: Oral morphine is frequently used for breakthrough pain but the oral route is not always available and absorption is slow. Transmucosal diamorphine is administered by buccal, sublingual or intranasal routes, and rapidly absorbed. Aim(s):…
