A child's end of life phase is an extremely vulnerable time, pushing parents to their mental and physical limits. This Swiss study aimed to find out what needs parents have during this phase and what can be put in place to support them. Parents who's child at died either at home or hospital were included. The results showed that parents created an intimate lifeworld in which they tried to provide some normality in daily life before their child's death, which exhausted them. The study concluded that paediatric end of life care at home is only feasible if parents make extraordinary efforts and additional help is provided with housekeeping help and psychological support.
Eskola, K et al 2017. Maintaining family life balance while facing a child's imminent death - A mixed methods study. Journal of Advanced Nursing 2017 p1-11 [online]
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