Measuring Pediatric Palliative Care Quality: Challenges and Opportunities

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Palliative Care
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Serious Illness Care

Background:

• Pediatric palliative care (PPC) programs exhibit significant variability in structure, staffing, funding, and patient volume, leading to inconsistent service delivery.
• Enhancing the quality of care for children with serious illnesses and their families necessitates robust quality measurement integrated into clinical practice and aligned with healthcare policy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of the current landscape of pediatric palliative care quality measurement.
• To identify challenges, current initiatives, and future opportunities in measuring PPC quality.
• To propose strategies for advancing high-quality PPC.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of current PPC quality measurement initiatives.
• Analysis of challenges in implementing and standardizing PPC quality measures.
• Development of strategic recommendations for improving PPC quality measurement infrastructure and policy integration.

Main Results:

• Despite progress in PPC quality measurement initiatives, substantial challenges persist.
• Existing initiatives like the Cambia Metrics Project and collaborative learning networks show promise but require further development.
• A multi-pronged approach is essential for delivering high-quality PPC.

Conclusions:

• Advancing high-quality PPC requires defining success, evaluating and adapting measures (addressing disparities), improving measurement infrastructure, gaining endorsement from quality organizations, and integrating measures into policy and funding.
• Systematic quality measurement is crucial for ensuring equitable and effective pediatric palliative care for all children and families facing serious illness.