Resources (0)
“The unheeded cry of a child in crises, is an accusation against humanity” - Elize Coetzee 2004
Children categories
What is PPC (7)
“The essence of palliative care is the relief of suffering”
Dr Derek Doyle
This section contains information on commonly used definitions of palliative care for children. The scope of palliative care for children and specifically which paediatric conditions would benefit from a palliative care approach are outlined. Information on the history of the field and International Organisations promoting the discipline are also presented in this section.
Clinical Care (5)
Clinical care in paediatric palliative care includes the management of pain and other distressing symptoms as well as end-of-life care.
Key to the practice of palliative medicine is the recognition that symptoms have psychological, social and spiritual components in addition to their physical manifestations and that these need to be addressed in a holistic manner by an interdisciplinary team.
Whilst this section deals with the more medical aspects of palliative care for children the reader is advised to combine this with holistic interventions detailed in the other sections of the PPC resource pages.
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Psycho- Social Care (4)
Psychosocial care in palliative care is concerned with the “psychological and emotional well being of the patient and their family/caregivers and includes issues around self-esteem, insight into and adaptation to the illness and its consequences, communication, social functioning and relationships”. (The National Council for Hospice and Specialist Palliative Care Services, 1997).
This section contains useful resources on providing psycho-social care and family support to children living with life threatening and life limiting conditions in resource poor settings.
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Spiritual Care (3)
Spiritual care is an essential component of palliative care as defined by the World Health Organisation. “Spirituality” although it may include religion is a broader concept that is concerned with man’s quest to find purpose and ascribe meaning to his existence.
Children are spiritual beings and spiritual care is an important part of the healing that needs to take place in the lives of children suffering from life threatening and life limiting illnesses.
This section contains resources that may help with spiritual assessment and care for the child and his/her family in the South African context.
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PPC Standards (2)
The quality of care provided to a child living with a life threatening or life limiting illness and his/her family is important and ensuring that a good standard of care is maintained is essential.
This section contains standards of care documents for Paediatric Palliative Care from South African and other countries across the world.
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Legislation (3)
In 1948 the Universal declaration of human rights stated that “childhood is entitled to special care and assistance”. This section addresses the legal framework that governs the practice of Paediatric Palliative Care in South Africa and abroad.
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Ethics (2)
“Ethics is the study of the rational process for determining the best course of action in the case of conflicting choices”.
Howard Brody 1976.
This section contains some useful resources to assist in approaching the many difficult ethical dilemmas often encountered in Paediatric Palliative Care.
PPC and HIV/AIDS (1)
Statistics supplied by the Kaiser Family Foundation www.kff.org indicate that in 2009 there were 2,500,000 children living with HIV. South Africa is second only to Nigeria in the number of children infected with this disease. The countries in Sub Saharan Africa with the greatest number of children living with HIV are as follows:
Nigeria - 360,0002
South Africa - 330,0003
Kenya - 180,0004
Tanzania - 160,0005
Uganda - 150,0005
Zimbabwe - 150,0006
Mozambique - 130,0007
Malawi - 120,0007
Zambia - 120,0008
Cote d'Ivoire - 63,0009
Cameroon - 54,000
Eritrea - 31,000
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PPC Short Course (4)
The Hospice Palliative Care Assosiation (HPCA) offers a one week Introduction Course and a six month Certificate Course in Children's Palliative Care. These two courses are run annually in five regions around the country. Both these courses are aimed at professionals working with children with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness or children affected by a life-limiting illess. Students who complete the Introduction to Paediatric Palliative Care Course are then eligible to complete the six-month certificate course, providing they satisfy all the course requirements iro professional qualifications.
There is a section marked "STUDENT ZONE" for all students registered for the six month course. If it is not visible below, you need to Log in or register on the Home Page of the site.
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