Disparities in Pediatric Palliative Care: An Opportunity to Strive for Equity

Disparities in Pediatric Palliative Care: An Opportunity to Strive for Equity

Bona K; Wolfe J

Pediatrics

2017

Abbreviations:EOL — end of lifePPC — pediatric palliative careThe importance of pediatric palliative care (PPC) for children with cancer has been broadly embraced over the last 2 decades in response to compelling evidence of high symptom burden and suffering throughout the continuum of care.1–3 Yet, how best to evaluate the impact of PPC remains a methodological challenge in a field focused on patient-reported outcomes, including symptom alleviation and goal-concordant care.In adult oncology, the benchmarking of palliative care has been facilitated by data demonstrating that end-of-life (EOL) care intensity (which is evaluable with administrative data, such as hospitalization and receipt of ICU care) is discordant with the wishes of adult patients with cancer.4,5 Similar benchmarking in pediatrics has been limited by an unknown correlation of care intensity with family goals and an absence of methodology for pediatric-specific administrative data. In this issue of Pediatrics, Johnston et al6 provide the first US population-based data … Address correspondence to Kira Bona, MD, MPH, Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: kira.bona{at}childrens.harvard.edu

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November 2017 List