Dataset Information

Bereavement Follow-Up After the Death of a Child as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology.

ABSTRACT: After a child's death to cancer, families commonly want continued connection with the healthcare team that cared for their child, yet bereavement follow-up is often sporadic. A comprehensive literature search found that many bereaved parents experience poor psychological outcomes during bereavement and that parents want follow-up and benefit from continued connection with their child's healthcare providers. Evidence suggests that the standard of care should consist of at least one meaningful contact between the healthcare team and bereaved parents to identify those at risk for negative psychosocial sequelae and to provide resources for bereavement support.

SUBMITTER: Lichtenthal WG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4692196 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bereavement Follow-Up After the Death of a Child as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology.

Lichtenthal Wendy G WG Sweeney Corinne R CR Roberts Kailey E KE Corner Geoffrey W GW Donovan Leigh A LA Prigerson Holly G HG Wiener Lori L

Pediatric blood & cancer 20151201

After a child's death to cancer, families commonly want continued connection with the healthcare team that cared for their child, yet bereavement follow-up is often sporadic. A comprehensive literature search found that many bereaved parents experience poor psychological outcomes during bereavement and that parents want follow-up and benefit from continued connection with their child's healthcare providers. Evidence suggests that the standard of care should consist of at least one meaningful con ...[more]

PMID: 26700929

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Project description:OBJECTIVE:To investigate critical care physicians' experiences and perspectives regarding follow-up meetings with parents after a child's death in the pediatric intensive care unit. Parents of children who die in the pediatric intensive care unit often desire a follow-up meeting with the physicians who cared for their child. DESIGN:Semistructured, audio-recorded telephone interviews. SETTING:Six clinical centers affiliated with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network. PARTICIPANTS:Seventy critical care physicians (i.e., attendings and fellows) practicing or training at a Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network clinical center between February 1, 2008 and June 30, 2008. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:Twenty-three (33%) physicians reported never participating in a follow-up meeting with bereaved parents; 22 (31%) participated in one to five meetings; and 25 (36%) participated in more than five meetings. Of those with prior experience, 44 (94%) met with parents at the hospital and 40 (85%) met within 3 months of the death. Meeting content included discussing autopsy, parent questions, hospital course, cause of death, genetic risk, bereavement services, and legal or administrative issues; providing emotional support; and receiving parent feedback. Forty (85%) physicians perceived the meetings to be beneficial to families, and 35 (74%) to physicians. Barriers included time and scheduling, family and physician unwillingness, distance and transportation, language and cultural issues, parent anger, and lack of a system for meeting initiation and planning. CONCLUSIONS:Critical care physicians have a wide range of experience conducting follow-up meetings with bereaved parents. Although physicians perceive benefits to follow-up meetings, barriers exist that interfere with their implementation in clinical practice.

Dataset Information

Bereavement Follow-Up After the Death of a Child as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology.

Publications

Bereavement Follow-Up After the Death of a Child as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology.

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