BMC palliative care
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BMC palliative care · Mar 2016
When parents face the death of their child: a nationwide cross-sectional survey of parental perspectives on their child's end-of life care.
Parents facing the death of their child have a strong need for compassionate professional support. Care services should be based on empirical evidence, be sensitive to the needs of the families concerned, take into account the heterogeneity within the medical field of paediatrics, and fit into the local health care system. We need to better understand the perspectives of parents facing the death of their child in order to guide further development and evaluation of specialised paediatric palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care services. ⋯ Although positive in general, our study results suggest some areas for improvement. The integration of specialised paediatric palliative care has the potential to minimise lost opportunities to support and assist parents.
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BMC palliative care · Mar 2016
The use of reflective diaries in end of life training programmes: a study exploring the impact of self-reflection on the participants in a volunteer training programme.
A training programme was developed and delivered to a cohort of volunteers who were preparing for a unique role to provide companionship to dying patients in the acute hospital setting. This comprehensive programme aimed to provide an opportunity for participants to fully understand the nature and responsibilities of the role, whilst also allowing sufficient time to assess the qualities and competencies of participants for their ongoing volunteering role. Participants completed reflective diaries throughout the training course to record their ongoing thoughts and feelings. The purpose of this paper is to present a phenomenological analysis of these entries to understand participants' experiences, perceptions and motivations. ⋯ The participants in this study demonstrated that they were able to use the diaries as an appropriate medium for reflection. Their reflections were also instrumental in the ongoing revision and development of the training programme. Analysis of their entries illustrated that the diaries could provide the opportunity for a reappraisal of their world view and personal philosophy around death and dying. Further research is undoubtedly required, however this paper suggests that self-reflection in this way, supports preparation in honing the appropriate attitudes and qualities required to work in this role.