Abstract
Session presented on Saturday, November 7, 2015 and Sunday, November 8, 2015:
The purpose of this presentation is: 1) describe the ethical issues surrounding palliative care in children with life-limiting illness requiring long-term ventilation and their families, and 2) to explain the importance of discussing dying with children with a life-limiting illness who require long-term ventilation and their families. Major advancements in the field of medical technology have significantly improved the lifespan of children in this very unique population. As those advancements continue and children survive, questions begin to arise about what happens when the child who requires long-term ventilation is nearing the end-of-life. What types of discussions need to happen? Who makes the medical decisions for the child? Is the child included in crucial conversations about end-of-life, or does anyone even discuss dying with them. Families often do not know what to do. Should they tell their child? Should the child be allowed to participate in these discussions? Do children want to leave a legacy for when they are no longer present? This presentation invites the learner to think about these questions. It also provides information on the importance of discussing dying with children with life-limiting illness who require long-term ventilation and their families. Some suggestions about how to elicit these conversations is also provided. Importance to the science of nursing: Technology continues to improve and with it the possibilities of extending life are rapidly expanding. As more people live sustained by technology, more ethical issues about end of life care and decision-making will also increase. It is important for nurses to be proactive in their thinking about these types of issues. It is also important for nurses to provide support for the children and families facing these issues. Families often turn to their nurses when they need answers, and as nurses we must be prepared to assist these children and families to have some of these difficult discussions as the child nears the end-of-life to maintain the best life possible for the child and family even unto death.
Sigma Membership
Alpha
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Pediatrics, End of Life Care
Recommended Citation
Crisp, Cheryl, "How parents discuss dying with their child with a life-limiting illness who require long-term ventilation" (2016). Convention. 364.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2015/posters_2015/364
Conference Name
43rd Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Conference Year
2015
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
How parents discuss dying with their child with a life-limiting illness who require long-term ventilation
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Session presented on Saturday, November 7, 2015 and Sunday, November 8, 2015:
The purpose of this presentation is: 1) describe the ethical issues surrounding palliative care in children with life-limiting illness requiring long-term ventilation and their families, and 2) to explain the importance of discussing dying with children with a life-limiting illness who require long-term ventilation and their families. Major advancements in the field of medical technology have significantly improved the lifespan of children in this very unique population. As those advancements continue and children survive, questions begin to arise about what happens when the child who requires long-term ventilation is nearing the end-of-life. What types of discussions need to happen? Who makes the medical decisions for the child? Is the child included in crucial conversations about end-of-life, or does anyone even discuss dying with them. Families often do not know what to do. Should they tell their child? Should the child be allowed to participate in these discussions? Do children want to leave a legacy for when they are no longer present? This presentation invites the learner to think about these questions. It also provides information on the importance of discussing dying with children with life-limiting illness who require long-term ventilation and their families. Some suggestions about how to elicit these conversations is also provided. Importance to the science of nursing: Technology continues to improve and with it the possibilities of extending life are rapidly expanding. As more people live sustained by technology, more ethical issues about end of life care and decision-making will also increase. It is important for nurses to be proactive in their thinking about these types of issues. It is also important for nurses to provide support for the children and families facing these issues. Families often turn to their nurses when they need answers, and as nurses we must be prepared to assist these children and families to have some of these difficult discussions as the child nears the end-of-life to maintain the best life possible for the child and family even unto death.
Description
43rd Biennial Convention 2015 Theme: Serve Locally, Transform Regionally, Lead Globally.