Pediatric Palliative Care Approaches and Quality of Life
Summary
Paediatric palliative care encompasses specialised, family-centred services designed to alleviate suffering and enhance quality of life for children with serious or life-limiting illnesses and their families. Approaches integrate early symptom management alongside curative therapies, emphasising pain control, psychosocial support, play and developmental interventions, and spiritual care. Multidisciplinary teams coordinate medical, nursing, psychological and social work expertise to address physical discomfort, emotional distress and existential needs. Services are delivered through hospital consultative units, community outreach teams and home-based programmes, ensuring continuity of care across settings. Quality of life is assessed by evaluating symptom burden, functional status, emotional well-being and family dynamics. Evidence supports structured care pathways, advance care planning and telehealth to promote informed decision-making, normalise daily routines and respect the child’s and family’s preferences. Global initiatives advocate capacity building in low-resource settings to ensure equitable access, underscoring the universal imperative to preserve dignity and meaningful experiences throughout the illness trajectory.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Pediatric Palliative Care Approaches and Quality of Life publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in pediatric palliative care approaches and quality of life across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Life-limiting condition: A disease or condition expected to shorten a child’s lifespan.
Respite care: Temporary relief provided to primary caregivers through short-term care services.
Home-based paediatric palliative care: Palliative care services delivered in the family home aimed at symptom management and psychosocial support.
Advance care plan: A documented outline of preferred medical interventions and goals of care prepared in advance.
References
- Parental experiences and coping strategies when caring for a child receiving paediatric palliative care: a qualitative study. European Journal of Pediatrics (2019).
- Family experiences with palliative care for children at home: a systematic literature review. BMC Palliative Care (2020).
- Paediatric palliative care improves patient outcomes and reduces healthcare costs: evaluation of a home-based program. BMC Palliative Care (2018).
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