Supporting pediatric patients and their families at the end of life : perspectives from bereaved parents

Article indépendant

SEDIG, Laura K. | SPRUIT, Jessica L. | PAUL, Trisha K. | COUSINO, Melissa K. | MCCAFFERY, Harlan | PITUCH, Kenneth | HUTCHINSON, Raymond

BACKGROUND: Cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease for children in the United States. It is imperative to optimize measures to support patients and families facing the end of a child's life. This study asked bereaved parents to reflect on their child's end-of-life care to identify which components of decision-making, supportive services, and communication were helpful, not helpful, or lacking. METHODS: An anonymous survey about end-of-life experiences was sent to families of children treated at a single institution who died of a malignancy between 2010 and 2017. RESULTS: Twenty-eight surveys were returned for a 30.8% response rate. Most of the bereaved parents (61%) reported a desire for shared decision-making; this was described by 52% of families at the end of their child's life. There was a statistically significant association between how well death went and whether the parental perception of actual decision-making aligned with desired decision-making (P = .002). Families did not utilize many of the supportive services that are available including psychology and psychiatry (only 22% used). Respondents felt that additional services would have been helpful. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers should strive to participate in decision-making models that align with the preferences of the patient and family and provide excellent communication. Additional resources to support families following the death of a child should be identified for families or developed and funded if a gap in available services is identified.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049909120922973

Voir la revue «The American journal of hospice and palliative care, 37»

Autres numéros de la revue «The American journal of hospice and palliative care»

Consulter en ligne

Suggestions

Du même auteur

Supporting pediatric patients and their famil...

Article | SEDIG, Laura K. | The American journal of hospice and palliative care | n°12 | vol.37

BACKGROUND: Cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease for children in the United States. It is imperative to optimize measures to support patients and families facing the end of a child's life. This study asked bereaved...

Palliative care is not associated with decrea...

Article | SEDIG, Laura K. | Pediatric blood and cancer

BACKGROUND: Palliative care is an important component of pediatric oncology care, especially for children who will not be cured of their disease. However, barriers remain to integration of this service. One barrier is the percepti...

Palliative care is not associated with decrea...

Article indépendant | SEDIG, Laura K. | Pediatric blood and cancer

BACKGROUND: Palliative care is an important component of pediatric oncology care, especially for children who will not be cured of their disease. However, barriers remain to integration of this service. One barrier is the percepti...

De la même série

Life story themes : a qualitative analysis of...

Article indépendant | SKINNER, Shannon | The American journal of hospice and palliative care | n°9 | vol.366

OBJECTIVE: To identify common themes and topics that patients nearing the end of life want to discuss when sharing their life stories. METHODS: Twenty audio-recorded transcripts of open-ended interviews of patients cared for by a ...

Students' experiences with death and dying pr...

Article indépendant | TALWALKAR, Jaideep S. | The American journal of hospice and palliative care | n°11 | vol.366

BACKGROUND: Personal experiences with death and dying are common among medical students, but little is known about student attitudes and emotional responses to these experiences. Our objectives were to ascertain matriculating medi...

Managing end of life care for the critically ...

Article indépendant | BASS, Kathryn | The American journal of hospice and palliative care | n°1 | vol.42

Background: Navigating medical care at the end of life can be a challenging experience for patients. There are also significant resource burdens, including intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, accompanying terminal illness. For a...

End-of-life care for patients with end-stage ...

Article indépendant | RIVERA, Frederick Berro | The American journal of hospice and palliative care | n°1 | vol.41

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic, debilitating condition associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic burden. Patients with end-stage HF (ESHF) who are not a candidate for advanced therapies will continue to ...

Hospice patients' end-of-life dreams and visi...

Article indépendant | RABITTI, Elisa | The American journal of hospice and palliative care | n°1 | vol.41

When conscious, about 50% to 60% of hospice patients report a "visitation" by someone who is not there while they dream or are awake: a phenomenon known as End-of-Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs). Since the dying process is frequen...

Chargement des enrichissements...