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Disclosing Terminal Diagnosis to Children and Their Families: Palliative Professionals' Communication Barriers.

Few studies have fully explored the problem of communication barriers in pediatric palliative care, particularly the detrimental effects of poor interaction between staff and families on children's health and well-being. A literature review was undertaken to expand the current body of knowledge abou...

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Published in:Death Studies Vol. 38; no. 5; pp. 302 - 308
Main Authors: Coad, Jane, Patel, Reena, Murray, Sarah
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd May2014
Subjects:
Medical personnel
Patient-professional relations
Terminally ill
Communication barriers
Children
Family medicine
Systematic reviews
Patients' families
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:Few studies have fully explored the problem of communication barriers in pediatric palliative care, particularly the detrimental effects of poor interaction between staff and families on children's health and well-being. A literature review was undertaken to expand the current body of knowledge about staff to patient communications. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria (N = 15) were systematically read and summarized using a data extraction sheet. A narrative synthesis identified 5 overarching themes as barriers to communication. Improvements in staff education and individualized palliative care plans for children and their families may help to overcome communication barriers.