When a child cannot be cured - reflections of health professionals

Abstract

This article reports on a study exploring the challenges and complexities of caring for a child with cancer no longer responding to curative therapy. The difficulties that health professionals face when initiating and providing palliative care to children with cancer is largely unexplored. A greater understanding of these challenges is needed to inform the development of effective models of care. Participatory group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to explore how health professionals from three disciplines - nursing, medicine and social work - view their role during the shift from cure to palliation. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content and thematic an..