Publication
Improving perinatal palliative care through e-learning
Daniels A, Mancini A, Downing J · Palliative Medicine · 2021
Aim: The highest number of paediatric deaths occur in the first month of life; 47% of deaths among children <5 years of age globally are in neonates. With more women undergoing prenatal testing, timely interventions are possible earlier & professionals need to be equipped to respond with sensitivity & expertise. Integrating a Perinatal & Neonatal Palliative Care (PC) approach has the potential to improve the overall experience including the quality of life & death for the pregnant mother, her foetus/neonate/ infant & family. Thus, we aimed to empower professionals to do this through an online education programme. Design(s): In 2015 a Perinatal PC (PPC) course was made freely available on a children's PC e-learning platform. The course serves as a taster, offering an introduction to the field & aims to enhance knowledge & confidence in PPC for all health professionals working with foetuses, neonates, infants & their families. Participants engage in reflective assignments, a range of useful resources are available and they receive a certificate upon completion of assignments. Result(s): 649 participants from 64 countries representing 8 regions of the world have accessed the course. 49% are nurses, 25% doctors with the rest being social workers, counsellors & teachers. 23% were from the USA & 19% the UK. Most participants report they found the course useful (80%), the information helpful (84%), that their confidence in PPC had improved (70%) & that they would recommend the course to others (95%). The course is available in English, Portuguese, French, Czech & Mandarin, with other translations underway. Conclusion(s): With PPC being a new field, accessing education on PPC is essential in order to improve care provision. Whilst evaluation is ongoing, this introductory course has clearly been helpful to many practitioners globally. Work is ongoing to update the course & there are plans for a more advanced course in order to ensure practitioners are knowledgeable & trained in PPC.
Synced from the TRENDS in Pediatric Palliative Care Zotero library, curated by The Siden Research Team. ICPCN does not host or verify the full text.