Mitchell, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-1477-7860, Morris, A., Bennett, K. et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Specialist paediatric palliative care services: what are the benefits? Archives of Disease in Childhood, 102 (10). pp. 923-929. ISSN 0003-9888
Abstract
Background The number of children and young people (CYP) living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions is rising. Paediatric palliative care is a relatively new aspect of healthcare, the delivery of which is variable, with a wide range of healthcare and voluntary sector providers involved. Policy recommendations are for Specialist Paediatric Palliative Care (SPPC) services to be supported by a physician with specialist training.
Aim To examine the research evidence regarding the distinct benefits of SPPC services, with ‘Specialist Paediatric Palliative Care’ defined as palliative care services supported by a specialist physician.
Method Systematic review of studies of SPPC services published in English from 1980 to 2016. Keyword searches were carried out in medical databases (Cochrane, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and AMED) and a narrative synthesis.
Results Eight studies were identified, most of which were retrospective surveys undertaken within single institutions; three were surveys of bereaved parents and three were medical notes reviews. Together they represented a heterogeneous body of low-level evidence. Cross-cutting themes suggest that SPPC services improve the quality of life and symptom control and can impact positively on place of care and family support.
Conclusions Current evidence indicates that SPPC services contribute beneficially to the care and experience of CYP and their families, but is limited in terms of quantity, methodological rigour and generalisability. Further research is necessary given the significant workforce and resource implications associated with policy recommendations about the future provision of SPPC and to address the need for evidence to inform the design and delivery of SPPC services.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 The Authors. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Reuse of this manuscript version is permitted strictly pursuant to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC-BY-NC 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Paediatric Practice; Paediatric Staffing; Palliative Care; Child; Child Health Services; Humans; Palliative Care; Pediatrics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Department of Human Metabolism (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Department of Oncology (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number National Institute of Health Research DRF-2014-07-065 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 23 Apr 2020 15:58 |
Last Modified: | 24 Apr 2020 06:57 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BMJ |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1136/archdischild-2016-312026 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:159827 |
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