There are few things requiring more expertise, delicacy, and compassion than caring for an infant, child, or young adult with a life-limiting condition. Written by leading researchers, clinicians from relevant disciplines, family members, and advocates, this practical guide provides professionals involved in pediatric palliative and end-of-life care with comprehensive information in a single volume. Thoroughly updated and expanded, this edition includes chapters addressing the unique challenges facing children with HIV/AIDS and their families, care in home and ICU settings, difficult decision-making processes, and the importance of communication with the child and family, as well as completely new chapters on spiritual dimensions of care and educational and advocacy initiatives. Intended for primary care physicians, pediatric practitioners and specialists, home care and hospice personnel, pastoral counselors, and affected families, the book includes useful resource and reference material and practical, hands-on tips. With contributions from an international group of expert educators, clinicians, and parents, this book takes a truly interdisciplinary approach to pediatric palliative care, presenting best practices, clear instruction, and the latest information and research for anyone involved in pediatric palliative and end-of-life care.

There are few things requiring more expertise, delicacy, and compassion than caring for an infant, child, or young adult with a life-limiting condition. This guide provides professionals involved in pediatric palliative and end-of-life care with comprehensive information.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Pediatric Palliative Care" that was published in Children

'Pediatric Palliative Care', the fourth volume in the 'HPNA Palliative Nursing Manuals' series, addresses paediatric hospice, symptom management, paediatric pain, the neonatal intensive care unit, transitioning goals of care between the emergency department and intensive care unit, and grief and bereavement in paediatric palliative care.

For patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life. Unfortunately, the experience of dying in the United States is often characterized by fragmented care, inadequate treatment of distressing symptoms, frequent transitions among care settings, and enormous care responsibilities for families. According to this report, the current health care system of rendering more intensive services than are necessary and desired by patients, and the lack of coordination among programs increases risks to patients and creates avoidable burdens on them and their families. Dying in America is a study of the current state of health care for persons of all ages who are nearing the end of life. Death is not a strictly medical event. Ideally, health care for those nearing the end of life harmonizes with social, psychological, and spiritual support. All people with advanced illnesses who may be approaching the end of life are entitled to access to high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based care, consistent with their wishes. Dying in America evaluates strategies to integrate care into a person- and family-centered, team-based framework, and makes recommendations to create a system that coordinates care and supports and respects the choices of patients and their families. The findings and recommendations of this report will address the needs of patients and their families and assist policy makers, clinicians and their educational and credentialing bodies, leaders of health care delivery and financing organizations, researchers, public and private funders, religious and community leaders, advocates of better care, journalists, and the public to provide the best care possible for people nearing the end of life.

"We hope that the lives of all children will be filled with possibility, with open horizons and rainbows into the future. Children with serious illnesses, their families, and those who care for them, confront the realization that "not everything is possible," that despite dramatic scientific and medical advances, the lifespan of some children will be shortened. This threat of premature loss heightens the sense of time for children and families alike, and challenges clinicians to create new pathways of hope for them"--

The first volume in the "What Do I Do Now?: Palliative Care" series, Pediatric Palliative Care uses a case-based palliative care approach to cover common and important topics in the examination, investigation, and management of children with serious illness. Each chapter provides a discussion of the diagnosis, key points to remember, and selected references for further reading. The book addresses a wide range of topics, including the goals of care, symptom management, care for neonatal and adolescent populations, and the emotional, social, cultural and spiritual needs of ill children and their families. Written by authors from a variety of fields such as nursing, chaplaincy, social work, and psychology, this book is suited for pediatricians, palliative care and hospice providers, nurses, and allied health practitioners. Pediatric Palliative Care is an engaging collection of thought-provoking cases which clinicians can utilize when they encounter difficult patients. The volume is also a self-assessment tool that tests the reader's ability to answer the question, "What do I do now?"