CMAJ open
-
Pediatric palliative care focuses on comprehensive symptom management and enhancing quality of life for children with life-threatening conditions and their families. Our aim was to describe Canadian programs that provided specialized pediatric palliative care in 2012 and the children who received it and to estimate the proportion of children who might benefit that received specialized care. ⋯ Program growth and changes in patients' demographic and clinical characteristics indicate improved reach of programs. However, barriers remain that prevent most children with life-threatening conditions from receiving specialized pediatric palliative care services.