Authors

Mª Dolores Abad Ruiz1, Sara Lorente Arnaiz1, Sonia Galindo Maycas1

Position

1Enfermera. Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos. Hospital Materno-Infantil Vall d’Hebron. Barcelona

Contact address

Sonia Galindo Maycas. Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos. Hospital Materno-Infantil Vall d’Hebron. Paseo de la Vall d’Hebron, 119-129. 08035 Ba

Contact email: maycas79@hotmail.com

Abstract

Objective: to understand the perceptions and needs of relatives and professionals regarding palliative care (PC) at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and to identify any challenges and strategies for its implementation.
Method: a narrative review. A bibliographic search was conducted through the following databases: PudMed, Cuiden, Cochrane Library Plus, Cinahl, Scopus, Enfispo, Medes, Pesquisa and Proquest. The descriptors used were: palliative care (cuidados paliativos), nursing (Enfermería) and paediatric intensive care units (cuidados intensivos pediátricos). The inclusion criteria for article selection were: original articles and/or reviews, published between 2005 and 2015, written in English or Spanish.
Results: two hundred and thirty (230) articles were located; of these, 189 were eliminated by applying exclusion criteria and duplication. Only 25 of the 41 remaining articles provided information about the thematic categories of interest for the analysis: (1) perceptions and needs of relatives, (2) perceptions and needs of professionals, (3) challenges for integrating palliative care at the PICU, and (4) strategies for the application of palliative care at the PICU. Of the 25 articles included in the review, 79% were original and 21% were reviews.
Conclusions: the main challenges for the integration of PC at the PICU are the lack of training on PC and communication strategies among professionals. For a successful implementation of palliative care at the PICU, it is necessary to shift the philosophy of care towards a more humanized setting including emotional support for the healthcare staff. Strategies such as the family-focused model of care and the coordination with PC specialists will minimize the difficulties that might arise in the implementation of this type of care.

Keywords:

palliative care; Paediatric Intensive Care; literature review

Versión en Español

Título:

Cuidados paliativos en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos