Introduction: The death of a child has a tremendous impact on parents' lives. The experience of parents who have lost a child to cancer may differ from other bereavement experiences, including other childhood and adulthood causes of death, because of the uncertainty of the prognosis, the aggressive treatment, and the potential for regret about treatment decisions. Bereavement care remains scarce, and effective interventions to meet the diverse needs of parents have not been defined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The death of a child may be the most traumatic event a family can experience. Bereavement care for parents is essential for their physical and mental well-being and is a psychosocial standard of care. Childhood mortality is higher in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs); however, little is known regarding bereavement support or interventions for parents in LMICs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Palliative care (PC) is an integral part of cancer treatment. However, data on service availability is limited in childhood cancers.
Aim: To describe the availability of PC services in paediatric oncology centres across Europe, and to identify barriers and facilitators for implementing and providing paediatric palliative care (PPC).