DIVERSITY IN ETHNICITY AND MAIN SPOKEN LANGUAGE OF CHILDREN REFERRED TO A SPECIALIST PAEDIATRIC PALLIATIVE CARE SERVICE

DIVERSITY IN ETHNICITY AND MAIN SPOKEN LANGUAGE OF CHILDREN REFERRED TO A SPECIALIST PAEDIATRIC PALLIATIVE CARE SERVICE

Wright L; Aidoo E

Archives of Disease in Childhood

2024

ethnicity; medical specialist; palliative therapy; Caribbean; Caucasian; Central Asian; England; Pakistani; South Asian; child; conference abstract; controlled study; drug comparison; electronic patient record; epidemiology; ethnic background; female; human; major clinical study; male; national health service; patient referral; therapy

Objectives To evaluate the diversity in ethnicity and main language spoken by children formally referred to a specialist paediatric palliative care service, and to compare this to both local and regional population demographics. Methods A retrospective case note review was carried out for children formally referred to a specialist paediatric palliative medicine (PPM) service over a 24-month period from 18/09/2021 to 18/09/2023. Each child's reported ethnicity and main language was identified from their Electronic Patient Record and recorded against a unique study identification number. This data was then compared with demographic information from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) 2021 Census1 on a local level using pooled data from three local authority areas (Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark), as well as the larger NHS regions of London and South-East England. Statistical comparisons were made using an online data processing tool2 to compare proportions using the 'N-1' Chi-squared test. Results There were 343 cases that met the inclusion criteria. 46 cases had no recorded ethnicity and were excluded from ethnicity comparison analysis, giving a total of 297 cases. 21 cases had no recorded main language and were excluded from language comparison analysis, giving a total of 322 cases. There is an increased proportion of PPM referrals for children identifying as 'White British' compared to the demographics of the local area and of London as a whole. Children identifying as 'Indian' and 'Pakistani' were also more significantly represented compared to the local population. Children who identify as 'Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African' appeared to be under-represented compared to the local population. Full results are available in table 1. English was the most common main language across cases referred to PPM. Other languages that appeared disproportionately represented in children referred to PPM included 'South Asian languages' (with the exception of Gujarati), 'West or Central Asian languages' and 'Arabic'. Full results are available in table 2. ConclusionChildren referred to specialist palliative care services come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. We should be aware that some populations may be under-represented, such as children who identify as 'Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African'. We should acknowledge the diverse range of languages spoken by children and their families and consider this when providing information and resources. .

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).

October List 2024