The Development Status and Five-Year Evolution of Pediatric Palliative Care in Mainland China

Pediatric palliative care (PPC) should be integrated throughout the disease trajectory and recognized as a fundamental component of pediatric healthcare systems.

To describe the development level of PPC in mainland China and elucidate the changing characteristics in this field over the past five years.

This is a cross-sectional study initiated by the PPC subspecialty group of the Pediatrics Society of the Chinese Medical Association. Study participants included all PPC teams in mainland China. The questionnaire was structured into five main sections: team characteristics, personnel composition, service quality, service types and contents, and support needs. This study compared the level of PPC development in mainland China in 2025 with that of 2019, with the 2019 data sourced from literature published by our team. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

There were 36 PPC teams, covering 16 out of 31 (51.61%) provinces and municipalities in mainland China. The median total number of team members was 12 (9, 16). From 2019 to 2025, the number of teams decreased from 45 to 36. However, the total number of team members increased from 300 to 513, demonstrating significant structural improvements in PPC teams. With the improved team structure, the content of palliative care services has significantly expanded.

Over the past five years, the PPC system in mainland China has made improvements to its team structure and dynamics. Despite this progress, it continues to face interrelated challenges: severe resource shortages, inefficient resource utilization, and uneven geographical distribution of services.