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Perceptions of Specialty Palliative Care and Its Role in Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant: A Multi-Disciplinary Qualitative Study
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  • Griffin Collins,
  • Hannah Beaman,
  • Alvin Ho,
  • Michelle Hermiston,
  • Harvey Cohen,
  • Elizabeth Dzeng
Griffin Collins
UCSF

Corresponding Author:gsc0305@gmail.com

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Hannah Beaman
UCSF
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Alvin Ho
UCSF
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Michelle Hermiston
UCSF
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Harvey Cohen
Stanford University School of Medicine
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Elizabeth Dzeng
UCSF
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Abstract

Background Consultation of specialty palliative care remains uncommon in pediatric stem cell transplant (SCT) despite growing evidence that early integration of palliative care improves outcomes in patients with advanced cancers or undergoing SCT. Little is known about how multidisciplinary pediatric SCT teams perceive palliative care and its role in SCT. Procedure We conducted semi-structured interviews of members of a multi-disciplinary SCT team to understand their perceptions of palliative care, how specialty palliative care is integrated into SCT, and to identify barriers to increased integration. Eligible participants included physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, and child life specialists. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Four major themes were identified. First, SCT team members held a favorable perception of the palliative care team. Second, participants desired increased palliative care integration in SCT. Third, participants believed that the palliative care team had insufficient resources to care for the large number of SCT patients which led to the SCT team limiting palliative care consultation. And, finally, the lack of a standardized palliative care consultation process prevented greater integration of palliative care in SCT. Conclusions SCT team members held a favorable perception of palliative care and saw a role for greater palliative care integration throughout the SCT course. We identified modifiable barriers to greater palliative care integration. SCT teams who desire greater palliative care integration may adapt and implement an existing model of palliative care integration in order to improve standardization and increase integration of specialty palliative care in SCT.
01 Jun 2021Submitted to Pediatric Blood & Cancer
01 Jun 2021Submission Checks Completed
01 Jun 2021Assigned to Editor
04 Jun 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
09 Jul 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
09 Jul 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
05 Oct 2021Submission Checks Completed
05 Oct 2021Assigned to Editor
05 Oct 20211st Revision Received
06 Oct 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
07 Oct 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
10 Oct 2021Editorial Decision: Accept