Children's palliative care now! Highlights from the second ICPCN conference on children's palliative care, 18-21 May 2016, Buenos Aires, Argentina

In Every Detail: Spiritual Care in Pediatric Palliative Care Perceived by Healthcare Providers

CONTEXT

Spiritual care is an essential domain of pediatric palliative care. The current mainland China faces a lack of national guidance and a shortage of specialized personnel to provide spiritual care in a traditional developing country.

OBJECTIVES

To identify spiritual care in pediatric palliative care services in mainland China from the perspective of healthcare professionals.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive interview study was conducted individually with 27 participants: 14 physicians, seven nurses, and six social workers. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Participants described that the essence of spiritual support was provided "in every detail" throughout pediatric palliative care. Four major themes and eleven subthemes were identified. 1) Assessing spiritual needs: paying attention to different perspectives; considering religion, tradition, and culture; discovering spiritual needs behind other needs. 2) Facilitating spiritual exploration: being with the family; providing resources; guiding by providers' own faith; 3) Supporting connections: encouraging the building of personal bonds; facilitating the establishment of spiritual connections. 4) Relieving spiritual suffering: facilitating a family review of child's life; supporting building meaning in daily life; assisting in leaving a legacy for the child.

CONCLUSION

This study illustrated that current spiritual support, though not formally organized, is provided individually in pediatric palliative care services in mainland China. Strategies for a practice guide, education and training for professionals, and cultural building need to be rationally developed to strengthen and structure spiritual support integrated into pediatric palliative care.

Inspiration, innovation and integration: highlights from the third ICPCN conference on children's palliative care, 30 May to 2 June 2018, Durban, South Africa

The International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) held its third international conference on children's palliative care in Durban, South Africa, from May 30 2018 to 2 June 2018. The conference-inspiration, innovation and integration-brought together 250 participants from 41 countries and was held in conjunction with local partners-Umduduzi Hospice Care for Children, Palliative Treatment for Children South Africa (Patch SA) and the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of South Africa. It built on national and global developments in palliative care such as its inclusion in Universal health coverage (UHC), the Lancet Commission report on pain and palliative care and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and aimed to raise the profile of children's palliative care in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and nationally. Seven pre-conference workshops were held prior to the conference on topics such as pain and symptom management, children's palliative care within a humanitarian crisis, perinatal palliative care, research, developing programmes, ethical issues and difficult conversations in children's palliative care. Delegates were welcomed in true Durban style at the welcome reception hosted by the City of Durban and uShaka Marine World. The opening plenary included entertainment from the Open Air School and Hillcrest Primary School, and inspirational talks from the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Chief Executive of ICPCN and the Noble Peace Prize Nominee Dr MR Rajagopal from Pallium India. Plenary sessions were interspersed throughout the conference with 56 oral concurrent presentations and workshops, six 'Meet the expert sessions' 100 poster presentations and the South African Premier of the film 'Hippocratic: 18 Experiments in gently shaking the world'. There was a great feeling of networking and learning throughout the conference, with the conference being well evaluated, and an increase in the level of presentations and research from previous conferences demonstrating the steps that are being taken in children's palliative care globally.

International Children's Palliative Care Network: A Global Action Network for Children With Life-Limiting Conditions

The International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) is a global network of individuals and organizations working together to reach the estimated 21 million children with life-limiting conditions and life-threatening illnesses. The drive to establish the ICPCN was born from the recognition of the gaps in service provision for children's palliative care and the need to collaborate, network, and share resources. Established in 2005 during a meeting in Seoul, South Korea, the ICPCN has developed over the years into an established network with a global membership. The history of the organization is described, including some of the key events since its inception. Working in collaboration with others, ICPCN has five key focus areas: Communication; Advocacy; Research; Education; and Strategic development, and is the only international charity working globally for the rights of children with palliative care needs. Activities in these areas are discussed, along with the inter-connection between the five areas. Without the ICPCN, palliative care for children would not have developed as far as it has over the years and the organization is committed to ongoing work in this area until all children requiring palliative care have access to quality services, wherever they live around the world.