Needs Assessment for Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology: An Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of non-accidental death in childhood. Cancer is the primary disease for which pediatric palliative care services are utilized worldwide. Improvement in pediatric palliative care has been identified as an ongoing research priority. There are still significant gaps in current knowledge of pediatric palliative care because education has not been integrated into curriculum and clinical experiences.

Objectives: The purpose of this integrative literature review aims to provide a comprehensive review of current research about the need of nursing education on palliative care for long-term care in pediatric oncology.

Methods: This integrative literature review focused on articles published from 2007-2018 using CINAHL, PsycINFO, HealthSourse: Nursing, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source, and PubMed. The matrix method by Judith Garrard was used to organize and synthesize the data.

Findings: Six studies that integrated the need of nursing education on palliative care for long-term care in pediatric oncology were found.

Conclusion: This integrative literature review has highlighted the continuing need to support nurses providing palliative care, especially in the pediatric oncology setting for long term care. This type of nursing is very emotional and can carry many difficulties, however with the appropriate support and education given to pediatric oncology nurses they would be able to provide better care to patients and their families in the long-term setting. Even, with the little research about pediatric palliative care it is discovered that the need to increase nursing education on palliative care for pediatric oncology nurses to help them gain confidence and increase their knowledge in the clinical setting is needed.

Keywords: pediatric oncology, palliative care, nursing education