Lack of palliative care in paediatric oncology across Europe
An international research group led by the University of Lucerne has investigated the availability of palliative, end-of-life, and bereavement care in paediatric cancer clinics across Europe. The study, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Swiss Cancer Research found a lack of capacity to provide adequate care.
Despite the advances in treatment of childhood cancer patients with great improvement of survival, around one in five children in Europe still dies from the disease. This is a devastating experience for parents. Support for children with advanced cancer and their parents in coping with medical, psychological, and social problems is an important source of help for many of those affected.
The research group, led by Prof Dr. Gisela Michel, investigated the availability of palliative, end-of-life, and bereavement care in paediatric cancer clinics across Europe. A total of 158 clinics from 27 European countries participated in the study. Results revealed that more than half of the paediatric cancer clinics offer palliative care with multidisciplinary teams as well as options for care at home. Around half of the surveyed paediatric centres offer bereavement services. However, it is concerning that a third of the centres admit that their palliative care capacity is insufficient to meet demand. This shows that there is still a lot of potential to improve the availability of palliative, end-of-life, and bereavement care.
Eddy Carolina Pedraza, co-author of the study, emphasises that improvements require efforts at various levels: "In order to meet the need for support services and close existing gaps, political initiatives are needed to improve the funding of specialised facilities. Equally important is the effective communication between the healthcare professionals involved, affected children and families, researchers, and political decision-makers to raise awareness of the relevance and benefits of the services."
The study "Palliative care services in paediatric oncology centres across Europe: A cross-sectional survey" was published in November 2023 in the journal EJC Paediatric Oncology. It was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, Swiss Cancer Research, and the EU funding programme for research and innovation "Horizon 2020". The study is part of the research project "Needs, Desires and psychosocial Outcomes in bereaved Parents who lost their Child to Cancer. Palliative und End-of-Life Care in der pädiatrischen Onkologie" (see news item August 2020).
Pedraza Eddy Carolina, Raguindin Peter Francis, Hendriks Manya Jerina, Vokinger Anna Katharina, De Clercq Eva, Rüesch Katja, Hjorth Lars, von Bueren André Oscar, Tinner Eva Maria, Bergstraesser Eva, Wiener Lori, Michel Gisela.
Palliative care services in paediatric oncology centres across Europe: A cross-sectional survey.
European Journal of Cancer - Paediatric Oncology, 2023