Discovering dad: paternal roles, responsibilities, and support needs as defined by fathers of children with complex cardiac conditions perioperatively.

Background: Understanding perceptions of family caregivers' roles and responsibilities regarding their child with complex cardiac needs has potential to help care teams better support parents. Paternal experience has been under-explored in pediatric cardiac cohorts.

Methods: Ten fathers of children undergoing cardiac surgery completed quantitative surveys on their knowledge needs and preferred format of communication.

Spirituality in adolescent patients.

Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood, represents a time of rapid biological, neurocognitive, and psychosocial changes. These changes have important implications for the development and evolution of adolescent spirituality, particularly for adolescents with chronic or life-limiting illnesses. To contribute positively to adolescent spiritual formation, palliative care teams benefit from understanding the normative changes expected to occur during adolescence.