Latest Paediatrics and Child Health Journal focuses on palliative care

The latest themed issue of the Canadian Paediatrics and Child Health (April 2015, Volume 20 Issue 3: 123-124) has a strong focus on paediatric palliative care.

In his editorial, Dr Stephen Liben motivates all those working in paediatrics to increase their knowledge of paediatric palliative care. He says, “Although paediatric mortality rates have decreased significantly over the past 60 years, the shift in palliative care toward maximizing quality of life has made it more relevant than ever to those working with infants, children and youth.”

He goes on to say that given the increasing numbers of children living with serious chronic complex conditions, the philosophy of palliative care is often appropriate from the time of initial diagnosis. This should not necessarily be provided by a paediatric palliative care sub-specialist but, rather, by the clinician who knows the child best.

“Why should we wait until curative therapies have been exhausted to ensure that a child is comfortable? Why wait until issues become critical and panic sets in to initiate discussions about goals and limits of care (often by health care providers who barely know the child or family)?” Liben asks.

The open access journal has some excellent papers which are available as PDF downloads and include the following:

A sense of connection G Frager
Paediatric palliative care: There is always more we can do A Rapoport, S Liben
Canadian paediatric palliative care: Challenges and promises A Lynk
Questions to consider when caring for a child with a high risk of dying before adulthood F Gauvin, C Cyr
When health care professionals say “more” and parents say “enough” RA Greenberg, K Weingarten
When parents say “more” and health professionals say “enough” D Davies, C Mack
Charting the Territory: Children and families living with progressive life-threatening conditions H Siden, R Steele
Quality indicators for paediatric palliative care J Charlebois, C Cyr
Paediatric palliative care in Canada: A national survey of paediatricians C Cyr, M-H Maisonneuve
Introducing a lexicon of terms for paediatric palliative care S Spicer, ME Macdonald, D Davies, C Vadeboncoeur, H Siden
Enhancing the quality of palliative care for children with cancer: A nation-wide train-the-trainer educational initiative K Widger, E Bouffet, S Friedrichsdorf, M Greenberg, A Husain, S Liben, JD Pole, H Siden, J Whitlock, J Wolfe, A Rapoport
Challenging neurological symptoms in paediatric palliative care: An approach to symptom evaluation and management in children with neurological impairment LA Rasmussen, M-C Grégoire