At Children's Hospital of Wisconsin there is a pediatric palliative care consultation service that serves a diverse patient population, including infants. However, the value of a palliative care consultation for infants has not been well evaluated.…
BACKGROUND: Decision-making during the end-of-life (EOL) phase for children with cancer is extremely difficult for parents. We synthesized the qualitative experiences of children with cancer, parents, and healthcare professionals (HCPs), and their…
Introduction: The experience of bereavement is associated with severe physical, psychological, social and spiritual reactions in the parents of children with cancer. Because of that, the families of these children need to receive bereavement…
BACKGROUND: Communication plays an important role for the well being of patients, families and also health care professionals in cancer care. Conversely, ineffective communication may cause depression, increased anxiety, hopelessness and decreased of…
OBJECTIVE: Many childhood deaths in the United States occur in intensive care settings. The environmental needs of parents experiencing their child's death in a pediatric intensive care unit must be understood to design facilities that comfort at the…
CONTEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on palliative care delivery and patient experiences. Less is known about the experiences and responses of palliative care clinicians. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe the pandemic's impact on…
BACKGROUND: Pediatric palliative care (PPC) aims to promote quality of life for children and their families through prevention and relief of physical and psychosocial symptoms. Little is known about how PPC/hospice services impact health care…
OBJECTIVE: To explore patient-related factors which influence the decisions of pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) caregivers to restrict life-support interventions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: A university-affiliated pediatric ICU.…
The results from a pilot study are reported in this article, part two of a two-part paper. The experiences of parents (six mothers and two fathers) are described as their families transitioned to the Canuck Place Children's Hospice (CPHC) in Canada.…
* Abbreviations: IRB — : institutional review board PPC — : pediatric palliative care Patient- and family-centered care “is an innovative approach to the planning, delivery, and evaluation of health care that is grounded in a…
BACKGROUND: Very little research has been reported examining nonpharmacologic symptom management strategies for very young, hospitalized children receiving palliative care, and none has involved Reiki-a light touch therapy. OBJECTIVES: To determine…
Reiki is often used but not well studied in children. Yet, this gentle, light-touch therapy promotes relaxation and is appropriate for those receiving palliative care. This quasi-experimental pre-post mixed-methods 1-group pilot study examined the…
Children with severe impairment of the central nervous system (CNS) experience gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms at a high rate and severity, including retching, vomiting, GI tract pain, and feeding intolerance. Commonly recognized sources of symptoms…
This article explores ways in which paediatricians can help increase awareness and embed organ and tissue donation in the end-of-life care process. This can save patient lives on the organ transplant waiting list, many of whom currently die…
When children are dying in a hospital setting, healthcare providers need to help families make important end-of-life care decisions. Most providers use the term do not resuscitate (DNR) when suggesting a course of action that involves not using…
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to determine how the decision-making process to forgo life support differs between southern and northern European pediatric intensive care units. DESIGN: Multiple-center, prospective study. SETTING: Thirty-nine…
OBJECTIVES: The decision to forgo life support is frequently made in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). A group of experts is currently preparing recommendations for guidelines concerning this decision-making process in France. We have performed…
OBJECTIVES: Care for children with severe neurologic impairment (SNI) often involves complex medical decision-making where therapeutic alliance between clinicians and families is essential. Yet, existing data suggest that communication and alliance…
CONTEXT: Children have limited access to hospice care: few existing hospice programs have dedicated pediatric teams, and adult hospice providers feel inadequately trained to care for children. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to increase access…
Children and young people with life-limiting illnesses who need palliative care often have complex diverse medical conditions that may involve multiple hospital presentations, medical admissions, care, or transfer to other medical care facilities. In…
Background To examine pediatric oncologists' grief reactions to patient death, and the impact patient death has on their personal and professional lives. Procedure The grounded theory method was used. Data was collected between March 2012 and July…
OBJECTIVE: Over the past few years, an integrated approach of palliative care (PC) to chronic and/or life-threatening conditions care has been widely used. Home-based PC (HBPC) service is developed to meet the needs of patients at home; however, it…
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…
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: Although specialized pediatric palliative care (SPPC) teams increasingly provide home-based care, the evidence of its impact has not yet been systematically evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of home-based SPPC in children and…
BACKGROUND: Parents of children with complex medical needs describe an internal, personal definition of "trying to be a good parent" for their loved child. Gaps exist in the current "good parent concept" literature: (1) When the idea of "trying to be…
BACKGROUND: Palliative care necessitates questions about the preferred place for delivering care and location of death. Place is integral to palliative care, as it can impact proximity to family, available resources/support, and patient comfort.…
Background/aims: The death of a child or young adult is fundamentally painful. Evaluating end-of-life care experiences can identify specific needs and ensure good quality care is provided. Our aim was to identify tools assessing quality of dying,…
Context: All inpatient children receiving pediatric palliative care consults at a free-standing children's hospital.Objectives: To explore the impact of massage therapy on pediatric palliative care patients' symptom burden and medication use pattern,…
INTRODUCTION: Caring for terminally ill children influences nurses' and allied health provider's quality of life, ability to provide personalized, dignified and empathetic care and even their concepts of personhood. In the absence of data this review…
BACKGROUND:: Racial and ethnic disparities in the provision of end-of-life care are well described in the adult oncology literature. However, the impact of racial and ethnic disparities at end of life in the context of pediatric oncology remains…
BACKGROUND: Despite rising childhood cancer incidence, low-middle income countries often fall short of quality resources to prioritize and develop psycho-oncology services. Patients and families suffering from cancer are subject to great…
Although legacy-building is a priority for quality palliative care, research has rarely examined effects of legacy interventions in children, particularly their impact on parent-child communication. We examined the impact of a web-based legacy…
OBJECTIVE: Despite recognition that dying children and their families have unique palliative care needs, there has been little empirical inquiry of parent perspectives to improve the quality of end-of-life care and communication. The purpose of this…
There is a significant gap in the provision of palliative care for children living with HIV (CLHIV) in Indonesia. While Indonesia has one of the highest rates of HIV infection amongst children in Asia, there is limited availability and access to…
OBJECTIVE: To implement and evaluate a quality improvement program of interdisciplinary palliative care education and support intended to increase the competence, confidence and ability to manage personal grief of health care professionals caring for…
OBJECTIVE: We sought to explore the beliefs regarding palliative care team utilization, as well as increase consultation and awareness of the palliative care team's role in the NICU. STUDY DESIGN: The study design in this Level 4 NICU included…
Context: Most hospice nurses across Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi report significant discomfort with provision of pediatric palliative and hospice care (PPHC). How best to target and modify variables to increase nurse comfort levels is not…
Background: Legacy making has been the focus of recent literature; however, few studies examine how legacy making affects bereaved parents. Objective: To better understand legacy making's effect on bereaved parents, this study examined (1) the…
