Advanced Spiritual Care in Palliative Care (P5)

Abstract

3. Create an informed and effective clinical, education, and institutional approach to pediatric palliative care. It is often said that ‘‘children are not little adults’’ and nowhere is this more true than in the area of pediatric palliative care (PPC). Although all palliative care shares basic principles, there are clearly many differences. Even the term ‘‘pediatric palliative care’’ tends to conflate diverse age groups with distinct needs, ranging from the perinatal to the neonatal, through childhood, and onto adolescence. For all its uniqueness, PPC is vastly underserved, with few individuals specifically trained or even working in pediatric palliative care; yet children and families have these needs across the country. Adult palliative care clinicians are therefore faced with the challenge of how best to help children and families in their community. This workshop endeavors to help professionals tailor their expert palliative care skills to the needs of this population. The workshop will begin with an interdisciplinary team overview of what is unique and similar in adult and pediatric palliative care. This will be followed by small group case studies and a large group discussion. The three cases are: a fetus prenatally diagnosed with Trisomy 13; a school-age child with a poor prognosis where the parents are seeking maximal (and burdensome) treatment; and an adolescent with cancer that is potentially treatable, but who is refusing the treatment his parents want for him. Multiple issues will be discussed ranging from supporting parents in their grieving and decision making, to coping with clinicians’ own emotional response to the suffering of children, and much in between. The workshop will conclude with small-group and facilitated discussion of concrete steps toward expanding adult-oriented palliative care clinical and education programs to attend to the needs of children and their families. The audience is encouraged to bring suggestions and ideas to share with each other.