COMPLETE (Communication Plan Early Through End of Life): Development of a research program to diminish suffering for children at end of life

Title

COMPLETE (Communication Plan Early Through End of Life): Development of a research program to diminish suffering for children at end of life

Creator

Hendricks-Ferguson V; Newman AR; Brock KE; Haase JE; Raybin JL; Saini S; Moody KM

Publisher

Journal of Pediatric Nursing

Date

2021

Subject

Communication; Goals of care; Palliative; Hospice; Pediatric cancer

Description

While overall survival has improved significantly for children with cancer over the past 75 years, cancer remains the leading cause of death from disease among children and adolescents. Further, despite the many advances in medical and nursing care, children with cancer still experience significant physical and emotional suffering over the course of their illness, especially at the end of life (EOL). Children endure significant rates of high-intensity medical interventions (e.g., intubation, intensive care unit admission) at the EOL despite many parents, adolescents, and young adult patients identifying home as their preferred location of death. Hospice care has the potential to ease suffering at the EOL and facilitate home deaths, and yet, most children still die in acute care settings without hospice care. Numerous barriers prevent timely enrollment in hospice among children with cancer who are in the EOL period. This report describes the development and testing of a palliative care/EOL communication intervention designed to overcome some of these barriers and improve EOL outcomes (i.e., earlier hospice enrollment, less use of high-intensity medical interventions, reduced pain and suffering) among children with cancer and their parents (i.e., less emotional distress and uncertainty, improved hope and healthcare satisfaction).

Rights

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).

Citation List Month

October 2021 List

Collection

Citation

Hendricks-Ferguson V; Newman AR; Brock KE; Haase JE; Raybin JL; Saini S; Moody KM, “COMPLETE (Communication Plan Early Through End of Life): Development of a research program to diminish suffering for children at end of life,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 29, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/17690.