Pediatric Palliative Care: Insights into Assessment Tools and Review Instruments

• Main Authors: Simonetta Papa (Author), Anna Mercante (Author), Luca Giacomelli (Author), Franca Benini (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/children10081406; 2227-9067
• Keywords: pediatric palliative care; assessment tools; quality of life; pain; symptoms; Pediatrics; RJ1-570
• Source: Children, Vol 10, Iss 8, p 1406 (2023)

The proper assessment of needs and outcomes in pediatric palliative care (PPC) is imperative<br>to ensure the best possible service to patients and families. However, given the multidimensional<br>nature of PPC, the low number of patients in this setting, the heterogeneity of diseases, the presence<br>of cognitive impairment in many patients, and the physiological development of children, outcomes<br>can be complex and difficult to measure. Consequently, in this context, the use of standardized<br>and validated tools to assess the needs of children and families, to assess symptom severity, and<br>to estimate the quality of PPC service represent a current need. Even if efforts have been made to<br>standardize approaches and tools for palliative care in adults, to our knowledge, a similar comprehensive<br>assessment of PPC has not yet been conducted to date. This narrative review provides an<br>overview and discusses the evaluation of tools currently applied in PPC, with an educational intent<br>for healthcare providers. We found that several instruments are available to assess different dimensions<br>of PPC. We proposed a classification into eligibility tools, patient and family needs assessment<br>tools, and care assessment tools. At present, two main eligibility tools exist, the PaPaS Scale and the<br>ACCAPED Scale questionnaire. Most of the tools for patient and family needs assessment have not<br>been specifically validated in the PPC setting, and many may be more readily applied in research<br>settings rather than in daily practice. Similar considerations can be made for tools assessing QoL,<br>while tools assessing PPC service quality seem to be easily applied. Efforts to develop new specific<br>tools and validate existing ones are undoubtedly advocated. However, in the patient's best interest,<br>PPC healthcare providers should start using available tools, regardless of their validation status.