Pediatric nursing
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Diverse settings, diagnoses, and time constraints challenge a small hospital's ability to provide comprehensive care to all dying children and their families. Children who died at a regional hospital in southeast Georgia were studied to document the circumstances under which they died and the palliative and end-of-life care provided. The most common causes of death were injury and circulatory events. ⋯ Seventy-two percent were previously healthy children; 78% were hospitalized for less than 24 hours prior to death. Based on previous medical history and length of final hospitalization, four hospital dying trajectories were defined. Hospital dying trajectories provide a basis for planning comprehensive hospital pediatric palliative and end-of-life care program by identifying the settings, time limitations, and key personnel.