Journal of palliative medicine
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Specialized pediatric palliative care programs aim to improve quality of life and ease distress of patients and their families across the illness trajectory. These programs require further development, which should be based on how they improve outcomes for patients, families, health care professionals, and the health care system. ⋯ Many indicators were used to assess program outcomes with little definition consensus across studies. Development of a set of agreed-upon indicators to assess program impact concurrent with family and patient input is essential to advance research and practice in pediatric palliative care.
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Specialized pediatric palliative care programs aim to improve quality of life and ease distress of patients and their families across the illness trajectory. These programs require further development, which should be based on how they improve outcomes for patients, families, health care professionals, and the health care system. ⋯ Many indicators were used to assess program outcomes with little definition consensus across studies. Development of a set of agreed-upon indicators to assess program impact concurrent with family and patient input is essential to advance research and practice in pediatric palliative care.