Palliative medicine
-
Palliative medicine · Dec 2016
ReviewHealthcare staff 's experience in providing end-of-life care to children: A mixed-method review.
Staff who provide end-of-life care to children not only have to deal with their own sense of loss but also that of bereaved families. There is a dearth of knowledge on how they cope with these challenges. ⋯ Education focusing on the unique challenges of providing end-of-life care to children and the importance of self-care, along with timely multidisciplinary debriefing, are key strategies for improving healthcare staff's experiences, and as such the quality of care they provide.
-
Palliative medicine · Dec 2016
Lived experiences of parents caring for a child with a life-limiting condition in Australia: A qualitative study.
Experiential studies in paediatric palliative care are needed to enable an ongoing international agenda which supports the development of responsive family supports. ⋯ This study builds upon the growing body of evidence available in paediatric palliative care internationally. The key themes highlight the substantial demand for both physical and emotional support beyond what is currently offered and call for the implementation of carefully planned support services and other societal initiatives which seek to alleviate the broad health impacts to caregivers.
-
Palliative medicine · Dec 2016
A descriptive report of end-of-life care practices occurring in two neonatal intensive care units.
In Canada and other developed countries, the majority of neonatal deaths occur in tertiary neonatal intensive care units. Most deaths occur following the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments. ⋯ Variability exists in end-of-life care practices such as provision of analgesic and sedative medications. Other practices such as discontinuation of cardiorespiratory monitors and use of parent rooms are more uniform. More research is needed to understand variation in neonatal end-of-life care.
-
Palliative medicine · Dec 2016
Medical indication regarding life-sustaining treatment for children: Focus groups with clinicians.
Decisions about medical indication are a relevant problem in pediatrics. Difficulties arise from the high prognostic uncertainty, the decisional incapacity of many children, the importance of the family, and conflicts with parents. The objectivity of judgments about medical indication has been questioned. Yet, little is known about the factors pediatricians actually include in their decisions. ⋯ The pediatricians defined medical indication on a case-by-case basis and were influenced by emotional reasoning. In contrast to prevailing ethico-legal principles, they included the interests of other persons in their decisions. Decision-making strategies should incorporate explicit discussions of social aspects and physicians' feelings to improve the transparency of the decision-making process and reduce bias.
-
Philip J Larkin, Fliss Murtagh, Heather Richardson, Myra Bluebond Langner and Sheila Payne (2016) Collaboration: Securing a future for palliative care research. Palliative Medicine, September 2016 30:8 709-710, doi: 10.1177/0269216316661970.