Background This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among caregivers of pediatric cancer patients and the associated risk factors. Methodology In total, 73 participants were recruited for this…
BACKGROUND: There is a lack of studies examining the prevalence and severity of psychosocial distress in parents caring for a child with life-limiting condition. More research is also needed to better understand the experience, support needs and…
Background: Communication around serious illness is a core competency for all residencies. One-fifth of neurology residencies have no curriculum. Published curricula use didactics or role-play to assess confidence performing this skill without…
BACKGROUND:
Primary palliative care refers to basic skills that all healthcare providers can employ to improve quality of life for patients at any stage of disease. Training in these core skills is not commonly provided to clinicians caring for…
BACKGROUND: To develop a scale to assess satisfaction with transitional health care among adolescents with a chronic illness and their parents. METHODS: The 'Mind the Gap' scale was developed using evidence from a previous needs assessment, in three…
Background: Assessing the quality of life (QoL) of children receiving end-of-life (EoL) care through evaluations by the children and their bereaved families is challenging; presently, there is no QoL assessment measure that is appropriate for use in…
BACKGROUND: There is currently no published, validated measures available that comprehensively capture quality of life (QoL) symptoms for children with poor-prognosis malignancies. The pediatric advanced care-quality of life scale (PAC-QoL) has been…
Background: Approximately 500,000 children in the United States suffer from serious illnesses each year and 50,000 die annually. Hospice and palliative care services are known to be beneficial for many children with serious illnesses and their…
BACKGROUND: Childhood cancer causes significant physical and emotional stress. Patients and families benefit from palliative care (PC) to reduce symptom burden, improve quality of life, and enhance family-centered care. We evaluated palliative…
The objective of the study was to determine whether teams providing specialist palliative care improve the health outcomes of patients with advanced cancer and their families or carers when compared to conventional services. The study involved a…
The objective of the study was to comprehensively characterise dysphagia in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) and identify predictors of penetration/aspiration during swallowing. We also investigated the psychosocial impact of dysphagia on individuals with…
Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has an uncertain and rapid trajectory after diagnosis. Palliative care is rarely utilized, although both patients and caregivers experience a distressingly high symptom burden. Most patients die in hospital.…
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Pediatric palliative care, with its emphasis on symptom management and quality of life, is an important aspect of care of children with life-threatening illnesses. We review recent publications with implications for care of these…
BACKGROUND: Patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer have a substantial symptom burden and may receive aggressive care at the end of life. We examined the effect of introducing palliative care early after diagnosis on patient-reported…
OBJECTIVE: To examine the economic and psychologic costs of care provided by maternal caregivers to children with gastrostomy tube (GT) feedings. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a 3-site study of primary maternal caregivers of 101 chronically ill…
BACKGROUND: Palliative oxygen therapy is widely used for treatment of dyspnoea in individuals with life-limiting illness who are ineligible for long-term oxygen therapy. We assessed the effectiveness of oxygen compared with room air delivered by…
CONTEXT: There are few randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of palliative care interventions to improve the care of patients with advanced cancer. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of a nursing-led intervention on quality of life,…
BACKGROUND: Despite the significant impact of chronic symptoms on quality of life with cystic fibrosis (CF), the role of palliative care in management of this disease is not well defined. The coping, goal assessment, and relief from evolving CF…
The nurse's role in supporting and caring for children and young people with life-limiting illness/conditions and their families requires specialist expertise. This domain can be one of the most emotionally challenging areas of practice. The concept…
The end of life has changed dramatically in recent years as life expectancies have increased, chronic disease rates have risen, and families, health care systems, and society have changed. As technology has advanced, death too often has become viewed…
Abstract Each year, more than 8 million children worldwide require specialized palliative care, yet there is little evidence available in pediatrics on the characteristics of the end of life in this context. Our aim is to analyze the characteristics…
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:
The objectives of this integrative review were to understand how parents of children with severe developmental disorders experience their involvement in end-of-life decision-making, how they prefer to be involved and what factors…
Objective: To assess changes in attitudes of neonatologists regarding the care of extremely preterm infants and parental involvement over the last 20 years. Study design: Internet-based survey (2016) involving 170 tertiary neonatal intensive care…
Many terminally ill patients who are able to eat appear to be eating less than they should, losing weight, and becoming malnourished, and many others develop difficulties with eating. These symptoms and signs are usually a marker of advanced cancer,…
The goal of good palliative care is to relieve suffering and to improve quality of life. However, it is clear that access to palliative care is inconsistent. At least in part, these deficiencies exist because of a lack of solid evidence on which to…
Severe congenital hydrocephalus manifests as accumulation of a large amount of excess fluid in the brain. It is a paradigmatic example of a condition in which diagnosis is relatively straightforward and long-term survival is usually associated with…
Background: Accessible information about palliative care available to the public on the Internet is growing. We do not know whether this information is consistent with the current accepted definition of palliative care. Aim: To identify resources on…
The patient's perspective is an essential component of understanding the individual experience of suffering in children with palliative needs, but it is a perspective that is often overlooked. The aim of this study was to compare the perception of…
BACKGROUND: This study is a pilot experience aiming to investigate the compliance of an institutional cohort of Italian children treated for a malignant disease and their families in completing the health utilities index2, (HUI2) and the…
Objectives Palliative care (PC) affirms life with goal to improve quality of life for patients with life-threatening conditions.1 PC referrals are influenced by multiple patient and provider factors, including staff awareness of guidelines, plus…
Background: The "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management" intervention is a skills-based, early palliative care intervention with demonstrated efficacy in adolescents and young adults with cancer.
BACKGROUND: Exploring the experience and understanding of death in children with terminal cancer is important to provide them with appropriate care. However, most studies have focused on the perspectives of parents and healthcare professionals, and…
GOALS OF WORK: The objective of the study is to assess the Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS) as a potential audit tool within a specialist cancer centre. It also aims to answer the following questions: does the tool identify problem areas and…
Little is known about the experience of parents receiving results of quality-of-life research in pediatric advanced cancer. The PediQUEST study participants who indicated interest in results during enrollment were mailed summarized findings and the…
BACKGROUND: Palliative care principles are known to support the experiences of children and their families throughout the illness trajectory. However, there is little knowledge of the parental perceptions of care delivered and gaps experienced by…
Changes in health and illness of individuals create a process of transition, and clients in transition tend to be more vulnerable to risks that may in turn affect their health. Uncovering these risks may be enhanced by understanding the transition…
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 develop and face-validate population-level indicators for potential appropriateness of end-of-life care, for children with cancer, neurological conditions, and genetic/congenital conditions, to be applied to administrative health data…
