Abstract
When a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, one of the most challenging tasks facing health-care professionals is how to communicate this to the child, and to their parents or caregivers. Evidence-based guidelines are urgently needed for all health-care settings, from tertiary referral centres in high-income countries to resource limited environments in low-income and middle-income countries, where rates of child mortality are high. We place this Review in the context of children's developing understanding of illness and death. We review the effect of communication on children's emotional, behavioural, and social functioning, as well as treatment adherence, disease progression, and wider family relationships. We consider the factors that influence the process of communication and the preferences of children, families, and health-care professionals about how to convey the diagnosis. Critically, the barriers and challenges to effective communication are explored. Finally, we outline principles for communicating with children, parents, and caregivers, generated from a workshop of international experts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1150-1163 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | The Lancet |
| Volume | 393 |
| Issue number | 10176 |
| Early online date | 14 Mar 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Mar 2019 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Communication
- Culturally Competent Care/standards
- Decision Making
- Disease Progression
- Evidence-Based Practice/methods
- Health Personnel/ethics
- Humans
- Parents/education
- Terminally Ill/psychology
- Treatment Adherence and Compliance
Cite this
Communication with children and adolescents about the diagnosis of their own life-threatening condition. / Communication Expert Group.
In: The Lancet, Vol. 393, No. 10176, 16.03.2019, p. 1150-1163.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Communication with children and adolescents about the diagnosis of their own life-threatening condition
AU - Communication Expert Group
AU - Stein, Alan
AU - Dalton, Louise
AU - Rapa, Elizabeth
AU - Bluebond-Langner, Myra
AU - Hanington, Lucy
AU - Stein, Kim Fredman
AU - Ziebland, Sue
AU - Rochat, Tamsen
AU - Harrop, Emily
AU - Kelly, Brenda
AU - Bland, Ruth
AU - Betancourt, Theresa
AU - D'Souza, Catherine
AU - Fazel, Mina
AU - Hochhauser, Daniel
AU - Kolucki, Barbara
AU - Lowney, Aoife C.
AU - Netsi, Elena
AU - Richter, Linda
AU - Yousafzai, Aisha
N1 - Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/3/16
Y1 - 2019/3/16
N2 - When a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, one of the most challenging tasks facing health-care professionals is how to communicate this to the child, and to their parents or caregivers. Evidence-based guidelines are urgently needed for all health-care settings, from tertiary referral centres in high-income countries to resource limited environments in low-income and middle-income countries, where rates of child mortality are high. We place this Review in the context of children's developing understanding of illness and death. We review the effect of communication on children's emotional, behavioural, and social functioning, as well as treatment adherence, disease progression, and wider family relationships. We consider the factors that influence the process of communication and the preferences of children, families, and health-care professionals about how to convey the diagnosis. Critically, the barriers and challenges to effective communication are explored. Finally, we outline principles for communicating with children, parents, and caregivers, generated from a workshop of international experts.
AB - When a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, one of the most challenging tasks facing health-care professionals is how to communicate this to the child, and to their parents or caregivers. Evidence-based guidelines are urgently needed for all health-care settings, from tertiary referral centres in high-income countries to resource limited environments in low-income and middle-income countries, where rates of child mortality are high. We place this Review in the context of children's developing understanding of illness and death. We review the effect of communication on children's emotional, behavioural, and social functioning, as well as treatment adherence, disease progression, and wider family relationships. We consider the factors that influence the process of communication and the preferences of children, families, and health-care professionals about how to convey the diagnosis. Critically, the barriers and challenges to effective communication are explored. Finally, we outline principles for communicating with children, parents, and caregivers, generated from a workshop of international experts.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Child
KW - Child, Preschool
KW - Communication
KW - Culturally Competent Care/standards
KW - Decision Making
KW - Disease Progression
KW - Evidence-Based Practice/methods
KW - Health Personnel/ethics
KW - Humans
KW - Parents/education
KW - Terminally Ill/psychology
KW - Treatment Adherence and Compliance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062882040&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)33201-X
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)33201-X
M3 - Review article
VL - 393
SP - 1150
EP - 1163
JO - The Lancet
JF - The Lancet
SN - 0140-6736
IS - 10176
ER -