Palliative nursing care for children and adolescents with cancer

lliative nursing care for children and adolescents with cancer Review (2216) Total Article Views Authors: Foster TL, Bell CJ, McDonald CF, Harris JS, Gilmer MJ Published Date June 2012 Volume 2012:2 Pages 17 - 25 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/NRR.S25904 Received: 19 January 2012 Accepted: 21 March 2012 Published: 15 June 2012 Terrah L Foster,1,2 Cynthia J Bell,1 Carey F McDonald,2 Joy S Harris,3 Mary Jo Gilmer,1,2 1Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, 2Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, 3Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA Abstract: Pediatric palliative care aims to enhance life and decrease suffering of children and adolescents living with life-threatening conditions and their loved ones. Oncology nurses are instrumental in providing palliative care to pediatric oncology populations. This paper describes pediatric palliative care and provides an overview of literature related to the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains of palliative nursing care for children and adolescents with cancer. Nurses can provide optimal palliative care by accounting for children's understanding of death, encouraging early initiation of palliative care services, and improving utilization of pediatric palliative care in cancer settings. Specific roles of registered nurses and advanced practice nurses in pediatric palliative care will be addressed. Recommendations for future research are made to further advance the science of pediatric palliative care and decrease suffering for children and teens with cancer.