Book Description

The first edition of this book was the first authoritative, systematic and comprehensive text to define the increasingly important and evolving specialty of paediatric palliative care. It explores both the clinical aspects and the multidimensional and holistic nature of care for the dying child, based on the knowledge that all human experience has a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual impact. The book covers ways of providing support in all of these areas both for the child, families, and carers, recognising the importance of teamwork and taking an evidence-based approach. The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Care for Children is about the care of children for whom cure of their underlying disease is not possible. It encompasses the physical management of symptoms such as pain and nausea, as well as social issues such as accessing appropriate education, emotional issues such as techniques for communication, and spiritual issues such as feelings of guilt and isolation. The book suggests that if we are to maintain the quality of life for a child it is essential to recognise all these dimensions and try to address them. This can only be done by recognising the skills of a wide range of professionals and working together in ways that are not always intuitive to any one discipline. It explores the multidimensional and holistic nature of care for the dying child. Those working in paediatric palliative care recognise that all human experience has emotional, psychological and spiritual impact as well as physical, and this book offers the essential information needed for those involved in paediatric care to find ways of providing support in all of these areas. Comprehensive in scope, exhaustive in detail, and definitive in authority, this second edition has been thoroughly updated to cover new practices, current epidemiological data and the evolving models that support the delivery of palliative medicine to children. Paediatric palliative care is now developing in countries with differing health care systems, and being adapted to suit individual illnesses and the varying resources and geography in different parts of the world. This book is an essential resource for anyone who works with children worldwide.