An innovative hybrid palliative care fellowship program: empowering pediatricians and enhancing care for children in resource-limited settings
child; Canada; Palliative Care; pediatrics; Bangladesh; controlled study; female; human; major clinical study; male; child health; palliative therapy; total quality management; India; pediatrician; skill; clinical examination; conference abstract; Philippines; learning; rotation; leadership; teaching; rigor; career; mentor; running; resource limited setting; Southeast Asia
Objective To describe the development and implementation of a 1-year 'Hybrid' Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) Fellowship, which includes both clinical and online learning to train paediatricians as specialists and leaders in paediatric palliative care in South and Southeast Asia. Methods Globally, 97% of children needing palliative care (PC) live in low- or middle-income countries, where access is often very limited. In India, less than 1% of the 1.6 million children needing PC can access these services. Building capacity and training opportunities for paediatricians are essential to improve access to PC in these settings. The Hybrid fellowship was developed through the existing partnership between Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration, Canada and the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care to train paediatricians as specialists and leaders in paediatric palliative care in South and Southeast Asia. A team of PPC experts developed the fellowship after a rigorous review of relevant literature and educational materials, incorporating their experiences running PPC traditional (in-person) fellowship programs in both high and lowerresourced settings. Results The fellowship includes formal teaching, clinical rotations, mentorship, regular assessments of trainees, and a scholarly project. Teaching includes 100 hours of weekly online classes, with a focus on case-based learning and leadership skills. Mandatory 4 months of clinical rotations in PC includes 2 months in the regional centre of PPC excellence in Hyderabad, India. Trainees' progression towards program competencies is assessed through written and observed standardised clinical examinations. A mentorship program provides additional support, which continues beyond the fellowship through an early career mentorship group. As a part of research and quality improvement (QI) training, fellows complete a scholarly project with support and supervision from experienced research mentors. More than 30 regional and international PPC experts contribute to the program as faculty. Since 2021, 6 paediatricians have completed the 'Hybrid' fellowship, from India (2), Bangladesh (1), and the Philippines (3), with 3 fellows currently in training. Graduated fellows have become regional and national leaders in PPC, developing new PPC programs, and implementing new PPC training in their home country. The program successfully sought endorsement from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (UK), which has strengthened the program's rigor and quality. Conclusion A 1-year Hybrid PPC Fellowship, which trains pediatricians to become specialists and champions of PPC, is an innovative model that can successfully build PPC capacity in resource-limited settings and increase access to PPC for children with life-limiting illnesses.
Palat G; Doherty M; Brown S; Shah A
Archives of Disease in Childhood
2023
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/10.1136/archdischild-2023-rcpch.53" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1136/archdischild-2023-rcpch.53</a>
Situational analysis and needs assessment regarding the availability and extent of pediatric palliative care services in the philippines
awareness; behavior change; care behavior; caregiver; child; childhood cancer; conference abstract; controlled study; counseling; financial management; health care delivery; health care personnel; health care planning; human; interview; long term survival; needs assessment; nutrition; palliative therapy; Philippines; psychosocial care; travel
Background: Around 200,000 pediatric clients are diagnosed with cancer each year globally. Majority (84%) of cancer cases are found in developing countries with 20% average survival rate (Ferlay et al, 2012). Two-thirds of pediatric oncology clients in the Philippines are diagnosed at advanced stages (Lecciones, 2015). Abandonment of treatment is high at 80%. Only about 10%- 20% of clients attain long-term survival despite availability of multidisciplinary management. These outcomes reflect the gap in service delivery for pediatric oncology clients (Ferlay et al, 2012). Therefore, to improve accessibility to healthcare, it is necessary to determine the perceived palliative care needs of clients, their caregivers, and healthcare providers.
Cajucom L A N; Ramos R C; Manago R K B; Fuentes R K T; Garcia P G; Ridulme Q R; Oruga M D P; Vinas M J G
JNCCN Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
2019
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/10.6004/jnccn.2018.7174" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.6004/jnccn.2018.7174</a>