Palliative care for children during COVID-19
19th April 2022
Children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and their families are potentially vulnerable during COVID-19 lockdowns because they have high clinical support needs, but access to services is constrained by limits on social participation and social contact.
Researchers based at the Cicely Saunders Institute decided to investigate what has been learned from this experience, and how services could be improved in the future. They carried out interviews of children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions, their parent/carers, siblings, health professionals, and commissioners.
The researchers did indeed find that children, young people and their families experienced loss of vital sources of social support, disruption to services important to families, and additional psychological distress during the pandemic. Continued delivery of child- and family-centred palliative care requires innovative assessment and delivery of psycho-social support. Disruptions within treatment and care providers may compound support needs, requiring coordination for families facing delays. The research team concluded that child- and family-centred palliative care requires the delivery of additional psychosocial support, engagement in decision-making, and co-ordination for families.
Scott HM, Coombes L, Braybrook D, Roach A, Harðardóttir D, Bristowe K, Ellis-Smith C, Higginson I, Gao W, Bluebond-Langner M, Farsides B, Murtagh FE, Frase LK, Harding R. COVID-19: impact on pediatric palliative care. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022 Feb 26:S0885-3924(22)00422-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.02.330. PMID: 35231592