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Pediatric palliative care

Jeffrey C Klick1, Julie Hauer

  • 1The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Division of General Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care
|July 20, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric palliative care focuses on alleviating suffering for children with serious illnesses. Understanding specific tasks and predictable suffering periods helps pediatricians improve quality of life for these children and their families.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Palliative Care
  • Quality of Life Research

Background:

  • Palliative care is integral to pediatric care, encompassing interventions to relieve suffering and enhance quality of life at any disease stage.
  • Pediatric palliative care is best defined by specific tasks aimed at mitigating suffering, rather than patient population or disease severity.
  • Predictable periods of suffering exist for children with serious illnesses, offering opportunities for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To define pediatric palliative care as a set of interventions focused on easing suffering in life-threatening conditions.
  • To outline an approach for implementing these interventions, emphasizing pediatrician collaboration with specialists.
  • To identify common and predictable times of suffering where interventions are most effective.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of existing knowledge on pediatric palliative care.
  • Definition of palliative care through specific tasks and interventions.
  • Discussion of implementation strategies for pediatricians, including multidisciplinary collaboration and communication skills.
  • Analysis of common scenarios, particularly the care of children with severe neurologic impairment.

Main Results:

  • Palliative care is characterized by specific tasks to mitigate suffering throughout a child's illness trajectory.
  • Identifying predictable times of suffering allows for timely and effective interventions.
  • Pediatricians can enhance care by collaborating with specialists and utilizing communication skills.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric palliative care is a crucial component of care for children with life-threatening conditions, focusing on suffering mitigation.
  • Effective implementation involves understanding specific tasks, recognizing predictable suffering, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
  • This approach supports children with complex chronic conditions and severe neurologic impairment, improving their quality of life.

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