Literature Review

Increasing access to pediatric palliative care in a large hospital system: Trials and triumphs from an APRN initiativeJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; by Faith Kinnear; 4/26 According to the Pediatric Palliative Care Task Force formed in 2020 and hosted by the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care, children with serious illness should have access to palliative care that meets the population’s unique needs. Taking care to assess needs, communicate with leadership teams, develop rapport with key stakeholders, and utilize the support staff already in place allowed for successful implementation of pediatric palliative care services at 2 satellite campuses over a 5-year span. Services included inpatient and outpatient patient care; ongoing family bereavement support; compiling staff resources and providing ongoing staff training in primary pediatric palliative care skills. Each satellite campus now has dedicated pediatric palliative care providers. This article outlines how the satellite palliative care programs were developed, the challenges and successes in the process, and the role of the APRN in program development.

Society of Critical Care Medicine 2026 Guidelines on the Care and Management of Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Patients at the End of Life Pediatric Critical Care Medicine; by Sabrina Derrington, Elizabeth G Broden Arciprete, Matthew C Lin, Simon J W Oczkowski, Amanda Alladin, Uchenna E Anani, Amanda K Borchik, Cassandra A Collins, Claudia Delgado-Corcoran, Mindy J Dickerman, Christopher G Harrod, Natalia Henner, Alexander A Kon, Mithya Lewis-Newby, Blyth T Lord, Ashley-Anne Masters, Sarah McCarthy, Katie M Moynihan, Sara M Munoz-Blanco, Lauren Rissman, Kathryn E Roberts, Amy B Schlegel, Ashleigh Schopen, Linda B Siegel, Harriett Swasey, Sarah E Wawrzynski, David J Zorko, Danielle D DeCourcey; 3/20/26 online ahead of print Objectives: To develop and provide evidence-based recommendations for EOL care and management of critically ill neonatal and pediatric patients and their families. Results: The [21-member multidisciplinary panel of experts] generated five conditional recommendations and one good practice statement, focused on advance care planning, pediatric palliative care consultation and education, systematic symptom management, bereavement support, and health equity in EOL care.

[Canada] Cultural safety in practice: Providing quality health care for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children and youth FreePaediatrics & Child Health; by Emilie Beaulieu, Sara Citron, Ryan Giroux, Cheyenne Laforme, Amber Miners, Brett Schrewe, Elizabeth Sellers; 2/26In Canada, cultural safety in health care has emerged in response to the racism and systemic discrimination that Indigenous peoples often face when accessing care. Grounded in cultural humility, antiracism, and trauma-informed care, cultural safety aims to ensure that Indigenous children and youth receive equitable, quality care. Paediatric health care providers can pursue building a culturally safe practice by applying the ‘learn, self-reflect, and act’ framework. They should also consider the home environment, language, and cultural heritage of each child, youth, and family seen in practice, alongside the barriers to and facilitators of healthy living that Indigenous children and youth experience in Canada. Being mindful of health care system policies and practices—and how they affect patient care both locally and historically—is an important step toward offering culturally safe care in any practice setting.

Akron-area teen remembered for facing cancer with grace, laughter Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH; by Ralph N. Paulk and Marilyn Miller Paulk; 3/18/26 Darren Hampton smiled and laughed almost incessantly. ... His family reminisced how he fought an agonizing battle with grace and a seemingly habitual smile long after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 at age 7. ... Darren wasn’t afraid to die,” Hampton said. “He understood what was going on.” ... Then, shortly after arriving at the hospice center, he asked Abood, “Are you telling me I don’t have to go to school?” Yet, he expressed a willingness to take his state tests. “He was always concerned about his schoolwork,” ... "(Darren) was full of energy and always positive. He wanted to step in and change the world. He talked about recycling in rivers and lakes.” ... On the day he died, Darren summoned his family.  ... 

Pediatric Resource GuideThe HAP Foundation press release; 3/16/26Our team with the Lynda P. Bollman’s Pediatric Program collected as many resources as we could find to assist patients, families, and practitioners. Our goal is for this Resource Guide to be an efficient and effective tool to aid in caring for children with a serious illness and their families navigating their journey... The Pediatric Resource Guide is divided into several categories (i.e., financial support, transportation support, emotional wellness support, etc.) to ease navigation. You will also be able to break some sections into subcategories (i.e., Midwest, East, West, etc.)...

Hospice patient who held toy drive for community has died:  Celebrating the life of 7-year-old Kenia Medina ABC KVIA-7, El Paso, TX; by Armando Ramirez; 3/3/26 Kenia Marisol Huerta Medina, the 7-year-old hospice patient who held a toy drive for the other children during the holidays, has died according to the Hospice of El Paso. The Hospice of El Paso has released an update on the family of Kenia's behalf providing an update of her passing. ... Robert Enriquez, Interim CEO of Hospice El Paso, said "Kenia’s heart was a reflection of the very best of El Paso. Through our Butterfly Program, we aim to bring peace and joy to our youngest patients, but Kenia reversed that gift and gave it back to our entire community. Her decision to use her final wish to bring smiles to other children is something we will never forget."

Themed digest for palliative care professionals: Spiritual support for children ehospice | PACED; February 2026 Spiritual support remains one of the most complex and, at the same time, most essential elements of palliative care. In the February PACED digest, we present articles exploring the integration of spiritual care into nursing practice, families’ experiences in paediatric palliative care, and the role of professionals in discussing end-of-life issues with children and adolescents. This issue includes materials on professional competencies, system-level recommendations, and parents’ lived experiences. Together, they offer insight into how spiritual and value-based questions shape clinical practice and influence the quality of support provided to families. ...

[United Kingdom] When a children’s hospice closes – national questions and lessons from Richard House by Peter Ellis ehospice; by Peter Ellis; 2/25/26 The closure of Richard House Children’s Hospice in December 2025 represents more than the loss of a single organisation. It signals a moment of reckoning for the children’s hospice movement in the United Kingdom. Richard House served families in East London for 25 years.  East London has a hugely diverse population with some 104 languages and dialects spoken. It has a substantially higher number of children with life limited or threatened lives than any other part of the country. So, Richard House was uniquely placed in the right part of the country. Failing as it has means there are serious questions to be asked.

Forbes: 2026 America's best large employers and America's best midsize employers Forbes; by Rachel Rabkin Peachman; 2/10/26 ... The annual rankings were based primarily on survey responses from more than 217,000 employees working at companies within the U.S. that employ more than 1,000 people. ... As with all Forbes lists, companies pay no fee to participate or be selected. ... [Healthcare organizations listed in the top 50 organizations include the following, with rankings among all industries: ...]

C.A.R.S. benefit event raises $713,392 for children and families PR Newswire, Jacksonville, FL; The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care; 2/18/26 The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care announced that its annual Children Are Rock Stars (C.A.R.S.) benefit event, presented by Ring Power, raised $713,392 to help provide life-enhancing care and support for children and families through Community PēdsCare® and Every Child Counts (ECC). Held on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at The Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, the event featured dinner and a live auction. It brought together sponsors, supporters, and community partners committed to making a meaningful difference for children facing serious illness and complex needs. 

The global need for paediatric palliative care: the evolution of serious health-related suffering in children aged 0-19 years from 1990 to 2023 The Lancet - Child & Adolescent Health; by Julia Downing, Felicia Marie Knaul, Xiaoxiao Jiang Kwete, Héctor Arreola-Ornelas, Nickhill Bhakta, William E Rosa, Lukas Radbruch, Julia Ambler, Stephen R Connor, Jinfeng Ding, Megan Doherty, Rui Gong, Richard Hain, Rut Kiman, Eric L Krakauer, Michael J McNeil, Oscar Méndez-Carniado, Marina Morais, Mary Ann Muckaden, Tania Pastrana, Marianne Phillips, Hongliang Tao, Michael Touchton, Valentina Vargas Enciso, Paul Vila, Afsan Bhadelia; online ahead of print March 2026 Our findings underscore the crucial need to expand access to high-quality palliative care services for children and adolescents, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our results also highlight the shift from decedent to non-decedent care needs associated with the substantial morbidity experienced by those living with their disease. Specific health-system policies to respond to the need for increased and higher-quality paediatric palliative care, especially interventions and medicines essential to address the unique palliative care needs of children, must be adequately funded to effectively reduce the avoidable burden of serious health-related suffering (SHS) among children.

[Global] UCLA report reveals a significant global palliative care gap among children  UCLA Health, Los Angeles, CA; by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Health Sciences; 2/10/26 Nearly all the world’s 10.6 million children experiencing serious health-related suffering (SHS) live in low- and middle-income countries with little to no access to palliative care specialized care for their illness, according to a comprehensive new report published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. ... The findings reveal a dramatic shift: most children in need of palliative care now live longer with severe, chronic illness, fundamentally changing the type of services needed and extending the duration of these services. ...

Personalized palliative care shows signs of improving quality of life for children with advanced cancer American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), EurekAlert!; by Mass General Brigham; 2/4/26How to reduce suffering in children with advanced cancer remains an ongoing but urgent question. A Mass General Brigham-led study examined whether systematically surveying children with advanced cancer and their parents about their symptoms and quality of life, providing feedback to children, families, and clinicians—and acting on that information by implementing personalized palliative care—could improve patients’ experiences. Their findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggest that integrating feedback along with response by specialized pediatric palliative care (SPPC) has the potential to improve children’s quality of life.