Evaluating quality of life in pediatric palliative care: a cross-sectional analysis of children's and parents' perspectives.

The patient's perspective is an essential component of understanding the individual experience of suffering in children with palliative needs, but it is a perspective that is often overlooked. The aim of this study was to compare the perception of quality of life (QoL) of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions expressed by the children themselves and their parents. Through a cross-sectional study, the responses of 44 parent-child dyads were obtained and the analysis was performed with the statistics based on Student's t distribution and non-parametric tests. Children value QoL more positively (mean = 6.95, SD = 1.85) than their parents (mean = 5.39, SD = 2.43). This difference exists even if we consider sociodemographic and disease variables. The presence of exacerbated symptoms is the situation in which both parents (mean = 3.70; SD = 1.95) and children (mean = 5.60; SD = 1.17) evaluate QoL more negatively. CONCLUSIONS: Children have a more optimistic view than their parents. When the child is the one who reports a lower QoL score than their parent, the child should be carefully monitored. The voice of the child and that of the family members can be collected to create a "family voice" and can be complementary. WHAT IS KNOWN: • Children with life-limiting conditions experience multiple and changing symptoms that affect their QoL. • The child's perspective is often overlooked. WHAT IS NEW: • Children value QoL more positively than their parents do, even if we control for sociodemographic variables and the disease itself. • When the child is the one who reports a lower QoL score than their parent, the child should be carefully monitored.

Desarrollo de la entrevista ESNA: un instrumento para evaluar el sufri-miento en niños y adolescentes con enfermedades graves y necesidades paliativas / Development of the ESNA interview: An instrument to assess suffering in children and adolescents with serious illnesses and palliative needs

Introducción: Hay una carencia de instrumentos específicos para evaluar el sufrimiento de niños y adolescentes con necesidades paliativas. Objetivo: Describir el proceso de diseño y creación del instrumento para la Evaluación del Sufrimiento en Niños y Adolescentes (ESNA) con necesidades paliativas. Método: 1) Revisión sistemática de la literatura; 2) Establecer marco teórico; 3) Definir los criterios del instrumento; 4) Establecer temáticas relacionadas con el sufrimiento; 5) Validación de contenido por expertos; 6) Validez de facie por pacientes; y 7) Prueba piloto. Resultados: 1) De 750 artículos, se evalúan 161 y se incluyen 51; 2) el marco teórico incorpora el Modelo integrativo del Sufrimiento de Kriokorian, y el Modelo Ecológico de Afrontamiento del Estrés de Brofenbrenner; 3) los criterios priorizan brevedad, lenguaje claro y preguntas relevantes; 4) temáticas relevantes establecidas con 18 adolescentes: vivencia de la enfermedad, gestión de la información, impacto emocional, relación con los otros y el impacto en los otros; 5) 14 profesionales realizan juicio de expertos de la versión preliminar; 6) 8 pacientes realizaron valoración aparente de contenido; y 7) Prueba piloto y análisis cualitativo con 8 pacientes. El instrumento ESNA final es heteroadministrado, con 42 preguntas (26 son exploratorias y 16 ítems cuantitativos). Explora: Experiencia de Enfermedad Gestión de la Información; Esperanza y expectativas; Regulación Emocional; Impacto en los otros; y Aspectos relacionales. Conclusiones: El instrumento ESNA parece ser una herramienta apropiada para la identificación del sufrimiento en niños y adolescentes con necesidades paliativas estando pendiente la evaluación de sus propiedades psicométricas (AU)

Introduction: There is a lack of specific instruments to assess the suffering of children and adolescents with palliative needs. Objective: Describe the process of designing and creating the instrument for the Assessment of Suffering in Children and Adolescents (ESNA) with palliative needs. Method: 1) Literature review; 2) Establish theoretical framework; 3) Define the criteria of the instrument; 4) Establish themes related to suffering; 5) Validation of content by experts; 6) Validity of facie by patients; and 7) Pilot test. Results: 1) Of 750 articles, 161 are evaluated and 51 are included; 2) the theoretical framework incorporates the Kriokorian Integrative Model of Suffering, and the Brofenbrenner Ecological Model of Coping with Stress; 3) the criteria prioritize brevity, clear language and relevant questions; 4) relevant themes established with 18 adolescents: experience of the disease, information management, emotional impact, relationship with others and the impact on others; 5) 14 professionals carry out expert judgment of the preliminary version; 6) 8 patients made an apparent assessment of content; and 7) Pilot test and qualitative analysis with 8 patients. The final ESNA instrument is hetero-administered, with 42 questions (26 are exploratory and 16 quantitative items). Explore: Experience of Illness; Information management; Hope and expectations; Emotional Regulation; Impact on others; and relational aspects. Conclusions: The ESNA instrument seems to be an appropriate tool for the identification of suffering in children and adolescents with palliative needs, pending the evaluation of its psychometric properties (AU)

Assessing well-being in pediatric palliative care: A pilot study about views of children, parents and health professionals.

OBJECTIVES: Our research aims to compare the perception that children in the pediatric palliative care setting have of their emotional well-being, or that expressed by the parents, with the perception held by the professionals involved in their care. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the emotional well-being of 30 children with a mean age of 10.8 years (standard deviation [SD] = 6.1) is evaluated. Children, or parents where necessary, evaluate their situation with a question about emotional well-being on a 0-10 visual analog scale. For each child, a health professional also rates the child's emotional status using the same scale. RESULTS: The average child's emotional well-being score provided by children or parents was 7.1 (SD = 1.6), while the average score given by health professionals was 5.6 (SD = 1.2). Children or parents graded the children's emotional well-being significantly higher than professionals (t-test = 4.6, p-value < .001). Health professionals rated the children's emotional well-being significantly lower when the disease status was progressive than when the disease was not (t-test = 2.2, p-value = .037). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Children themselves, or their parents, report more positive evaluations of emotional well-being than health professionals. Sociodemographic and disease variables do not seem to have a direct influence on this perception, rather it is more likely that children, parents, and professionals focus on different aspects and that children or parents need to hold on to a more optimistic vision. We must emphasize that when this difference is more pronounced, it can be a warning sign that further analysis is required of the situation.

Atenció psicosocial en cures pal·liatives pediàtriques / No disponible

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