Facilitators and barriers to parent-child communication in pediatric palliative care: An integrative review.
Miao Zhang, Huanhuan Li, Fei Li and 1 others
PMID 39830911WHAT IT FOUND
In pediatric palliative care, denial, fear, and mutual protection were described as barriers to honest parent-child talk about illness and death.
Memory activities, play, and team guidance were described as supports.
Key findings
01The review included 24 studies, with ten quantitative studies and 14 qualitative studies.
02Four facilitator themes were identified: legacy-making, resilience training programs, guidance from the healthcare team, and positive communication.
03Seven barrier themes were identified: denial, being unprepared and evasive, incorrect views of medical professionals and parents, mutual protection, being overwhelmed by painful emotions and overloaded with information, negative communication, and cultural context.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only English-language published studies were included, so other language contexts and grey literature were missed. Some included studies could not be appraised for quality. The authors note open communication may not apply to all contexts or all children. The review combined quantitative and qualitative studies, so it describes themes and barriers rather than testing a single intervention.
Declared interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat legacy-making, play therapy, or resilience training as proven ways to improve parent-child communication. The review synthesized themes from mixed studies and notes that open communication may not suit every child or context.