Inequities in Pediatric Palliative Care: Where Are the Consults?*

Inequities in Pediatric Palliative Care: Where Are the Consults?*

Suttle ML

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine

2022

barrier; health; medicine; social life; pediatrics; communication; quality; relationship; palliative; Caucasian of Hispanic; competence; editorial; human; consultation; therapy; race; access; disparity; care; patient; personnel; equity; utilization; intensive; Black; cultural; difference; person; racism; bias; cell; doctor; English; ethnic; exclusion; implicit; limited; multilingualism; proficiency; racial; stem; transplant

acial and ethnic inequities are well documented in medicine (1). Patients from historically marginalized groups have consistently reported medical mistrust, poor communication, and perceived discrimination as barriers to the care that they receive (2,3). Pediatrics is no exception with racial and ethnic differences noted in the treatment of numerous conditions, including cancer and conditions treated in the PICU (4,5).

Pediatric palliative care (PPC) is a specialty that strives to prevent or ease distress while maximizing quality of life for children with life-threatening conditions, as well as their families, throughout the trajectory of a child’s illness (6). Though PPC is not specific to end of life (EOL), the utilization of these resources at EOL leads to improved outcomes for families (6). In children who undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), PPC is associated with less intervention-focused care and greater opportunity for improved EOL communication and advance preparation (6). [...]

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October 2022 List