Literature Review

[United Kingdom] One in five children’s hospices cutting staff or services amid funding pressures, study finds CivilSociety; By eyewave; 6/16/26 Almost a fifth of UK children’s hospice charities are cutting services or employing fewer staff as a result of financial pressures, according to research published today. The research, commissioned by national charity Together for Short Lives, found that while most hospices had managed to maintain service levels over the past year, nearly half had used reserves to do so. A third had reduced short breaks or respite care, while a smaller proportion had cut hospice-at-home services and end-of-life care. The findings came against the backdrop of an 18% sector-wide rise in charitable expenditure year on year, and a 21% increase in overall expenditure.

Kids should be involved in their health care. Here's how to make that happen Medical Express; by Stuart Ekberg, Anthony Herbert, Katie Ekberg, The Conversation; 6/12/26 Research suggests children who actively participate in their own treatment recover faster from surgery, have less anxiety and feel more valued. ... Our new research suggests this may be because we focus too much on what children say, while ignoring the many other ways children communicate. Our study focused on pediatric palliative care services. ... This can include severe cerebral palsy, genetic syndromes such as Trisomy 18, neurological and metabolic conditions such as childhood dementia, and advanced cancers such as leukemia and brain tumors. ... We focused on pediatric palliative care services because they support children of all ages, from infants to young adults. And they support children who can speak and also children who do not speak.

Every bead tells a story: Carolina Caring Foundation invests $5,000 in Beads of Courage® program for children facing serious illness Carolina Caring; Press Release; 6/8/26 For children living with serious illness, every milestone matters. These moments of achievement can include completing a medical treatment, overcoming a hospital stay, celebrating a birthday, or reaching a personal goal for the first time. To help create more of these meaningful moments, the Carolina Caring Foundation has awarded a $5,000 Gift Back Grant to the Cardinal Kids Beads of Courage® program. This grant supports one of the many life enrichment experiences offered to pediatric patients and families served by Carolina Caring. Beads of Courage® is a nationally recognized program that honors the journeys of children facing complex medical conditions.

‘Life-changing’: Florida’s first pediatric hospice and palliative care center to open in Jacksonville News4JAX, Jacksonville, FL; by Tiffany Salameh; 6/2/26 A new center opening in Jacksonville aims to provide children with serious illnesses and their families something many say is hard to find: a place designed specifically for them. The Dorion Family Pediatric Center, set to officially open June 11 inside the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring on Sunbeam Road, is being described as Florida’s first dedicated pediatric hospice and palliative care center and one of only a few such facilities in the nation. The center will become the new home of Community PēdsCare, a program that currently serves more than 300 children across Northeast Florida living with serious and complex medical conditions.

New! Pediatric e-Journal Issue #83National Alliance for Care at Home press release; 5/20/26The focus of the 83rd issue and the one that immediately preceded it is on topics that relate to trauma and trauma-informed care. This issue specifically addresses trauma and trauma-informed care as they involve providers and care teams.

Children’s Minnesota establishes first endowed chair for pain, palliative care and integrative medicine program BusinessWire, Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN; Press Release; 5/7/26 Children’s Minnesota is pleased to announce a new investment in easing pain and improving comfort for children facing serious illness. Thanks to a generous $2 million gift from the Hanson family, the health system has established its first endowed chair dedicated to pediatric pain, palliative care and integrative medicine. Kris Catrine, MD, medical director of Children’s Minnesota’s pain, palliative care and integrative medicine (PPCIM) program, has been named the inaugural holder of the Hanson Family Endowed Chair in Pain, Palliative Care and Integrative Medicine.

Local boy becomes honorary doctor with Hospice Family Care teamFox 54, Huntsville, AL; by Caleb Aguayo; 4/24/26 A young boy battling what his caretakers call a "likely incurable disease" got to live out a dream Friday when his hospice care team made him an honorary doctor for the day, complete with scrubs, a white coat bearing his name, a name tag and his very own stethoscope. Abobakr Almageleh, who has spent years surrounded by medical equipment, has long shown a fascination with the tools and routines of the health care professionals caring for him, from listening to his own heartbeat to tracking the rhythm of monitors nearby. His caregivers at Hospice Family Care took notice.

Chapters Health System launches new pediatric program PR Newswire, Temple Terrace, FL; Press Release; 4/23/26 Chapters Health System announced the launch of Chapters Kids, a system‑wide pediatric hospice and palliative care program. Chapters Kids will expand resources for pediatric patients and families throughout the Chapters Health System service area and unite existing pediatric programs from several affiliates. "The launch of Chapters Kids is another critical step forward as we work toward fulfilling our mission of taking care of patients, or taking care of those who do," said Andrew Molosky, President and CEO, Chapters Health System.

Children supported by hospice remembered in songs Europe Says, Oxford, UK; Press Release; 4/19/26  Ten children who were cared for in a hospice have been honoured with a collection of specially commissioned songs. The bereaved families of the children worked closely with musicians on The Keepsake Circle project at Helen and Douglas House in Oxford. ... The families taking part in The Keepsake Circle project shared stories about their children and what made them unique. The deeply personal songs for the families have been written and produced by singer Kiki Deville and songwriter Angus Powell, with instrumentalist and producer Gregor Gergő Petri also joining the team. 

Ending Do Not Resuscitate requirements in pediatric home hospiceAmerican Academy of Pediatrics - Pediatrics Perspectives; by Meaghann S. Weaver, MD, PhD, MPH, HEC-C, FAAP and Sara Taub, MD, MBE, FAAP; Lisa C. Lindley, PhD, RN, FPCN, FAAN; 4/16/26 Hospice care is designed to provide holistic support for children with serious illness while honoring family values and preferences. We recently encountered challenges in enrolling children from 3 of the 4 US census regions (the Midwest, West, and South) into home hospices. The hospice agencies maintained an internal policy requiring “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) orders as an enrollment requirement. We hold clinical and ethical concerns about pediatric hospice care being contingent on DNR orders.

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.