Quality Measure Considerations for Pediatric Palliative and End-of-Life Care

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Palliative Care
• End-of-Life Care Research
• Quality Measurement in Healthcare

Background:

• Growing need for high-quality pediatric palliative and end-of-life care for children with life-limiting illnesses.
• Lack of standardized quality measures for pediatric palliative and end-of-life care patient outcomes.
• Importance of Comfort Theory in guiding care for pediatric patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore current quality measures in pediatric palliative and end-of-life care.
• To evaluate these measures within the Comfort Theory framework.
• To identify areas for improvement in pediatric end-of-life care quality.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of 15 relevant articles.
• Focus on pediatric patients with life-limiting illnesses receiving palliative or end-of-life care.
• Exclusion of studies on acute illness, trauma, or accidental death.

Main Results:

• Identified 7 emergent domains for quality measures: symptom alleviation, care structures/processes, healthcare utilization, place of death/bereavement, patient/family experiences, psychosocial/spiritual care, and cultural/ethical/legal aspects.
• These domains align with the physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural, and environmental contexts of Comfort Theory.
• Current quality measures are not standardized.

Conclusions:

• The 7 identified domains provide a framework for developing and standardizing quality measures in pediatric palliative and end-of-life care.
• Focusing on these domains can promote comfort, equity, and accessible care for pediatric patients.
• Further research and development of standardized quality measures are recommended.