• Richard Harding, Rene Albertyn, Lorraine Sherr, and Liz Gwyther.
• Department of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, King's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: richard.harding@kcl.ac.uk.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2014 Mar 1;47(3):642-51.

ContextThe progressive disease burden among children in sub-Saharan Africa means the provision of palliative care is essential and should be provided alongside treatment where it is available.ObjectivesTo systematically review the evidence for pediatric palliative care models, interventions, and outcomes to appraise the state of the science and inform best practice.MethodsA systematic review search strategy was implemented in eight electronic databases, the search results reported using a PRISMA statement, and findings tabulated.ResultsIn terms of evidence of palliative care provision and outcomes, only five articles were identified. These represent a small range of acute, community, and hospice care and offer some limited guidance on the development and delivery of services.ConclusionPediatric palliative care is a pressing clinical and public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. Explicit evidence-based models of service development, patient assessment, and evidence for control of prevalent problems (physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and developmental) are urgently needed. Greater research activity is urgently required to ensure an evidence-based response to the enormous need for pediatric palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa.Copyright © 2014 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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