Current Status of the Pediatric Palliative Care Pilot Project in South Korea Based on the Experience of a Single Center
Title
Current Status of the Pediatric Palliative Care Pilot Project in South Korea Based on the Experience of a Single Center
Creator
Sun HC; Yeonhee L
Identifier
Publisher
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
Date
2023
Subject
Palliative Care; Pilot Projects
Description
Purpose: We evaluated the status of patients enrolled in South Korea’s pediatric palliative care pilot project based on the experience of a single center. This study examined factors related to end-of-life services and differences in medical costs. Methods: The medical records of 120 patients referred by a pediatric palliative care team were analyzed retrospectively. Data from July 1 to February 28, 2022 were collected and analyzed using the chisquare test and the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Volunteer programs and psychological support (100%), family support and education (99.2%), and financial support through institutional linkage (62.5%) were provided to the participants. In the deceased group, there were no significant differences in general characteristics, which included age, gender, primary disease, religion, duration of hospitalization in an intensive care unit (ICU) and nonintensive care unit (non-ICU). However, the ICU group had fewer opportunities to access individual pain and physical symptom management than the non-ICU group and there were limitations in linking with external resources. Medical expenses were significantly different for the ICU group, with a 3-times higher average cost than the non-ICU group. Conclusion: Although an individualized approach is needed for each patient in pediatric palliative care, psychosocial care is essential. In addition, if early intervention for end-of-life pediatric patients is available from a palliative care team, the cost burden of medical care for patients and their families should be minimal.
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
September List 2023
URL Address
Collection
Citation
Sun HC; Yeonhee L, “Current Status of the Pediatric Palliative Care Pilot Project in South Korea Based on the Experience of a Single Center,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed May 2, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/19310.