Palliative Care for Infants, Children, and Adolescents: A Practical Handbook

by Kathleen M. Foley (Foreword), Brian S. Carter (Editor), Marcia Levetown (Editor)

Palliative care for terminally ill adults is receiving growing recognition as a major component in medical care. Yet far less is known or understood about the needs of infants and children with life-limiting conditions. Developed by leading researchers and practitioners from relevant disciplines, this practical guide provides professionals involved in pediatric end-of-life care with comprehensive information for hands-on care in a single volume. Early chapters present the epidemiology of palliative pediatrics, ethical principles, education, and advocacy. Contributors next address the decision-making process, holistic symptom management, communication with the child and family, as well as their psychological and spiritual needs, and such issues as bereavement and caregiver suffering. Individual chapters focus on palliative care in specific settings (NICU, PICU, home, school, and community) and for major conditions (genetic disease, HIV, and cancer). Case studies discuss the experience and perspective of parents. Intended for primary care doctors, pediatric practitioners and specialists, home care nurses, hospice workers, and pastoral counselors, the book also includes a list of additional resources and support organizations for professionals and family members.

Palliative Care In The Home

This practical reference book by noted palliative care specialists gives clear guidelines on how to provide high-quality palliative care in home settings. The authors affirm that excellent palliative care can be delivered in the home, even if the patient is eventually admitted to a hospital or palliative care unit. Surveys consistently show that most people would prefer to be cared for at home rather than in an acute care facility such as a hospital. The clear and straightforward style makes the book usable as a reference by a wide range of readers. Highly recommended for physicians, nurses, and other care providers, as well as motivated non-professional caregivers with interest in the subject.

Hospice and Palliative Care: Concepts and Practice, Second Edition
by Walter B. Forman (Editor), Denice C. Sheehan, Robert P. Anderson

This book for health care professionals (primarily nursing or medical students) offers both theoretical perspectives and practical information. In the first part the authors present a historical overview of hospice and explain how the interdisciplinary team functions in the hospice setting. In the second part the authors discuss challenges to the team including symptom management, death education, ethical issues, and support groups. Learn more or order the book here.

Hospice and Palliative Care: Concepts and Practice, Second Edition

This book for health care professionals offers both theoretical perspectives and practical information. In the first part the authors present a historical overview of hospice and explain how the interdisciplinary team functions in the hospice setting. In the second part the authors discuss challenges to the team including symptom management, death education, ethical issues, and support groups. The future of hospice is addressed in the final part. Useful specialized topics include program management, eligibility and reimbursement, and cultural concerns. The contributors are leaders in community medical care, geriatric care, nursing care, pain management, research, counseling, and hospice management. An excellent choice for medical students, nursing students, or any professional working with seriously ill clients where hospice care may be an appropriate care option.

Hospice Care For Children - Edited by Ann Armstrong-Dailey and Sarah Zarbock Goltzer

Total Sedation: A Hospice and Palliative Care Resource Guide

This resource guide is designed to provide individual hospice and palliative care programs with the tools needed to explore the topic of total sedation with their staff and develop agency policies and guidelines for its use. Purchase this and other guidebooks from the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization.

Compendium of Pediatric Palliative Care

When A Child Is Dying (updated May 9, 2004)

Physician's Guide to End-of-Life Care

	Physician's Guide to End-of-Life Care is a comprehensive manual designed to help professionals learn about and provide good palliative care. Topics include communications, relationship building, the goals of palliative care; evidence-based approaches to pain, depression, and delirium; intractable suffering; and legal, financial, and quality issues.
	Learn more about this guide and the ACP-ASIM

Bereavement Care Guidelines

Hospice and palliative care providers have a new resource to consult in managing, developing, and enhancing their grief and bereavement programs. Representing the diverse experiences and expertise of hospice bereavement counselors from across the country, "Guidelines for Bereavement Care in Hospice" - a new publication by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) - provides a comprehensive framework for establishing and improving hospice grief and bereavement programs. To obtain a copy of "Guidelines for Bereavement Care in Hospice" and other NHPCO technical resources for hospice and palliative care programs visit NHPCO's Marketplace at www.nhpco.org/marketplace or call 1-800/646-6460. For more information about NHPCO or the National Council of Hospice and Palliative Professionals, visit www.nhpco.org or call 703/837-1500.

Principles and Practice of Palliative Care and Supportive Oncology, 2nd Edition

Berger AM, Portenoy RK and Weissman DE, Lippincott, 2002. This book is the only US comprehensive textbook of palliative care, including information on symptom control, communication, palliative care interventional treatments, medical ethics, palliative care research, medical education and palliative care in special populations. (1176 pgs).

Handbook of Pain Management: A Clinical Companion to Textbook of Pain

An Essentials version of the Textbook of Pain, this book is intended to provide the pain medicine specialist and trainee with an easy-to-access overview on the management complexities, assessment tools and multiple treatment modalities that are currently available to the physician dealing with the full spectrum of pain syndromes. The emphasis throughout is on the clinical aspects of pain medicine. It will contain the core information that the practitioner and trainee needs. Each chapter is brief and succinctly written and the text is well broken up with headings, tables and summary charts. The book is divided into 2 main sections; clinical states (acute, chronic and cancer pain) and therapeutic aspects ( pharmacological, surgical, physiotherapy, psychotherapy ) and it presents a rational, multidisciplinary approach to the management of pain.

Conquering Your Child's Chronic Pain: A Pediatrician's Guide to Reclaiming a Normal Childhood

A nationally recognized leader in the field of pediatric pain management, Dr. Lonnie K. Zeltzer offers an invaluable guide to control the pain that plagues your child, from headaches to arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and more. Drawing on more than 30 years of study and combining modern medicine with complementary methods such as hypnotherapy, yoga, acupuncture, and biofeedback, Dr. Zeltzer explains how to

Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent is Sick - A Harvard Medical School Book

Based on a Massachusetts General Hospital program, Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent is Sick covers how you can address children's concerns when a parent is seriously ill, how to determine how children with different temperaments are really feeling and how to draw them out, ways to ensure the child's financial and emotional security and reassure the child that he or she will be taken care of.

About the Authors: Paula K. Rauch, M.D., is founder and director of the PACT program at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she also serves as chief of the Child Psychiatry Consultation Service. She is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Anna C. Muriel, M.D., M.P.H., is on the PACT staff at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

The Private Worlds of Dying Children

"I am an aspiring doctor and this text was a required reading for a pediatric internship. I read this book before my internship began and it helped me to get through this heart wrenching experience. At first it was difficult to read just because it really tugs at your emotions. However, once I made it past the first few stories I could not put the book down until I finished. Myra Bluebond-Langner does an incredible job of not only telling the stories of dying children, but she also gets into the innocent minds of the children enduring this difficult battle. This book is a must read for any aspiring pediatrician, or any aspiring physician for that matter. The way an innocent child views the innevitable can shed some light on how others may view the same situation. Althought parents might find this a tough read, it may help them to understand their child's point of view as well."

Hope in the Face of Cancer: A Survival Guide for the Journey You Did Not Choose

"Dr. Amy Givler has given the world a much needed book! As a physician, she approaches her diagnosis of cancer with much more knowledge than the average person. As she travels the journey from diagnosis to wellness, she takes the reader along with her, offering helpful insight and educated direction. Dr. Givler openly and honestly shares her thoughts and trials, both positive and negative, and the effects her illness had on her young family. Along with the physical and emotional details of her experience, Dr. Givler shares the hope she found in her strong faith in God. This book is a must for anyone who has cancer or knows anyone who has cancer. The understanding gained from Dr. Givler's experience will equip the reader to better understand what friends and loved ones are going through."

On Death and Dying - What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy, and Their Own Families by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, MD

This is the world-famous best-seller by the woman who popularized the field of thanatology as a subject for general social commentary. This was her first book on the topic and is considered a classic. It is required reading in many academic settings, including medical and nursing schools, theological seminaries, and popular psychology courses. The book introduced the author's seminal "stages of dying" or "stages of grief" model which is still widely quoted. According to this model, there are five stages that a dying person goes through when they are told that they have a terminal illness. The stages go in progression through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. This model has been widely adopted by other authors and applied to many other situations where someone suffers a loss or change in social identity. The model is often used in bereavement work. Not all workers in the field agree with this model, however, and some critics feel the stages are too rigid. Regardless of whether you feel the stages are absolute, the book is a "must read" for anyone seriously interested in death and dying issues. Written in plain language that anyone can understand, this important book can help families understand what's going on as death of a loved one draws near.

Purchase works by Dr. Kubler-Ross  Browse her collection
 

End-of-Life DVD/Video

	The Virginia Cancer Pain Initiative in association with the Virginia Association for Hospices announces the availability of the DVD/video "Making Difficult Decisions: An End of Life Discussion". The video promotes discussion among professionals and the public about barriers to good end of life care, advance planning, hospice and palliative care options and choices in the final transition.
	An accompanying Viewer's Guide with discussion questions and related resources makes this an excellent educational resource for patients, family members, and health care professionals. For more information or to order your copy ($10.00 plus shipping), contact Laura Pole

Death And The Adolescent

This concise and practical handbook shows how you can help teen students affected by death, including a complete outline for a ten-week school-based grief support group. The book is an excellent resource for parents, teachers, school counselors, pastoral care providers, and bereavement counselors seeking clear advice on how to conduct support groups in schools. Perspectives on various aspects of teen bereavement are given in enough detail to be of value to non-specialists without overwhelming the reader with academic commentary.

Social Work Theory and Practice With the Terminally Ill

This comprehensive technical reference for hospice social workers is a useful read for other members of the interdisciplinary team working in hospice and palliative care settings.