This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0269216309102618v1 23/5/418    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Knapp, C Articles by Shenkman, E PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Knapp, C Articles by Shenkman, E Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Children's Health Palliative Care Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Paediatricians’ perceptions on referrals to paediatric palliative care

Departments of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida cak{at}ichp.ufl.edu

L Thompson

Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

V Madden

Institute for Child Health Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

E Shenkman

Departments of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

Children have traditionally been referred to palliative care when curative treatments were exhausted. Recently, experts have suggested that children could benefit from palliative care early in their courses of illness. Using survey data from 303 paediatricians in Florida and California, this study assesses if paediatricians would refer children to palliative care early in their course of illness. Results showed that more years in practice were associated with decreased odds of referring children to palliative care. Academic practice setting and more Medicaid patients were associated with greater odds of referral prior to the end of life. Hispanic paediatricians, those with more experience and those who practice in a hospital setting were associated with decreased odds of referral prior to the end of life. Results suggest that health planners who wish to implement or refine integrated paediatric palliative care programs should consider outreach strategies targeted at paediatricians with specific characteristics.

Key Words: paediatric • paediatrician survey • palliative care • referral

This version was published on July 1, 2009

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 23, No. 5, 418-424 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0269216309102618


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?