Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026
Setup and Execution of the Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Death Notification Curriculum
Published on: August 5, 2020
Understanding communication among health care professionals regarding death and dying in pediatrics
Julianne Harrison1, Elana Evan2, Amy Hughes2
1Pediatric Critical Care Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA.
Insights
Healthcare professionals comfortable with end-of-life discussions in pediatrics reported higher confidence in family communication and bereavement support. Formal training and consultation services significantly enhance comfort levels in discussing pediatric death and dying.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Palliative Care
- Medical Communication
- Thanatology
Background:
- Effective communication about death and dying is crucial in pediatric palliative care.
- Understanding healthcare professionals' comfort levels is key to improving end-of-life care for children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess comfort levels of healthcare professionals in communicating about death and dying in children.
- To investigate the impact of consultation services, professional discipline, and formal training on communication comfort.
Main Methods:
- Primary analysis of a survey conducted in a tertiary care teaching children's hospital.
- Data collected from physicians, nurses, and psychosocial clinicians.
Main Results:
- Comfort in discussing end-of-life care with colleagues correlated with greater confidence in family communication and post-death interactions.
- Physicians were more likely to initiate discussions about a child's impending death.
- Formal grief and bereavement training was associated with increased comfort in discussing death.
Conclusions:
- Consultation practices are linked to higher comfort levels in discussing pediatric death and dying.
- Interdisciplinary training and support systems can enhance healthcare professionals' communication skills in sensitive end-of-life situations.
- Addressing communication barriers is essential for quality pediatric palliative care.
Objective:
Effective communication regarding death and dying in pediatrics is a vital component of any quality palliative care service. The goal of the current study is to understand communication among health care professionals regarding death and dying in children. The three hypotheses tested were: (1) hospital staff (physicians of all disciplines, nurses, and psychosocial clinicians) that utilize consultation services are more comfortable communicating about death and dying than those who do not use such services, (2) different disciplines of health care providers demonstrate varying levels of comfort communicating about a range of areas pertaining to death and dying, and (3) health care staff that have had some type of formal training in death and dying are more comfortable communicating about these issues.
Methods:
A primary analysis of a survey conducted in a tertiary care teaching children's hospital.
Results:
Health care professionals who felt comfortable discussing options for end of life care with colleagues also felt more comfortable: initiating a discussion regarding a child's impending death with his/her family (r = 0.42), discussing options for terminal care with a family (r = 0.58), discussing death with families from a variety of ethnic/cultural backgrounds (r = 0.51), guiding parents in developmentally age-appropriate discussions of death with their children (r = 0.43), identifying and seeking advice from a professional role model regarding management concerns (r = 0.40), or interacting with a family following the death of a child (r = 0.51). Among all three disciplines, physicians were more likely to initiate discussions with regards to a child's impending death (F = 13.07; p = 0.007). Health care professionals that received formal grief and bereavement training were more comfortable discussing death. Significance of the results: The results demonstrated that consultation practices are associated with a higher level of comfort in discussing death and dying in pediatrics.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
01:30Ethical Dilemmas II
01:30Therapeutic Communication
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
01:21Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
01:28Communication
Within...
01:17Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...