Coronavirus and Children’s Palliative Care

 

 

 

On this page you will find a wide selection of research and guidance on COVID-19 which we have collected and published for your reference. 

The evidence for COVID-19 and children continues to develop and it can be hard to keep up with all of the relevant information. Information can be found here which is updated regularly and includes links to all of the main papers on COVID-19 and children. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in the UK are also summarising the evidence for COVID-19 in children which can be found here.

This is the country and national technical guidance from WHO:
 

COVID-19 and Children with Comorbidities

Information can be found here which is updated regularly and includes links to all of the main papers on COVID-19 and children. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in the UK are also summarising the evidence for COVID-19 in children which can be found here. A paper was published in JAMA Pediatrics looking at the characteristics of children with COVID-19 admitted to US/Canadian Pediatric Intensive Care Units.

The following paper has been published which showed that severe outcomes from COVID-19 are rare among children, but risk is higher for children who are under 1 month old, male or have pre-existing conditions – COVID-19 in Children and Adolescents in Europe: A Multinational, Multicentre Cohort Study

A paper has been published analysing Covid-19 in children in the UK. COVID-19 in children: analysis of the first pandemic peak in England

A useful guide for parents of children with disabilities has been developed by UNESCO, CDMRP and the Social Justice Department and can be downloaded here. 

There has been some reports of some children experiencing a ‘toxic shock’ type syndrome. The Paediatric Intensive Care Society in the UK have published a statement on this. The RCPCH have also released guidance on an approach to clinical management for this. Some papers published on this area include:

COVID-19 and Children’s Palliative Care

ICPCN have worked with colleagues around the world, and with the IAHPC, WHPCA and PALCHASE on Briefing Notes on all aspects of Palliative Care and COVID-19. Four Briefing Notes have been developed on children which include:

The full series of Briefing Notes can be found on the globalpalliativecare website. A webinar was held on Friday 8th May with regards to these briefing notes and can be watched here.

The NHS in the UK have several helpful guides:

  1. The Association for Paediatric Palliative Medicine in conjunction with the NHS have published clinical guidelines for children and young people with palliative care needs in all care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic which are regularly updated and can be downloaded here.
  2. The Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) standard operating procedure: Children and young people with palliative and end-of-life care needs who are cared for in a community setting (home and hospice) during the COVID-19 pandemic and can be downloaded here. 
  3. There are general guidelines for the management of paediatric patients during the coronavirus pandemic in the UK that can be downloaded here. 
  4. There are general guidelines for the management of palliative care in hospital that can be downloaded here.
  5. Community Palliative, End of Life and Bereavement Care in the COVID-19 pandemic that can be downloaded here.
  6. How to deliver the news of a death by telephone which can be downloaded here.

COVID-19 and Palliative Care resources

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted in many places the great need for palliative care. There are papers and resources available and these can be found on the following websites:

Some of the following papers may also be helpful:

Prevalence and transmission in children

Papers on Palliative Care and COVID-19:

Papers on symptoms in children

General Papers on Children and COVID-19:

Many of the journals, including the Lancet, have dedicated COVID-19 resources pages.

Other resources offering practical tips include:

  • COVID-19: Working with and for Young People. Available hereand summary guidance here
  • Practical Tips on Engaging Adolescents and Youth in the COVID19 Response can be found here
  • COVID19 and Youth Mental Health – Available here
  • Toolkit to Spread Awareness and Take Action on COVID-19 – Available here
  • COVID-19: GBV Risks to Adolescent Girls and Interventions to Protect and Empower Them – Available here
  • Five Actions for Gender Equality in the COVID-19 Response: UNICEF Technical Note – Available here
  • COVID-19 and HIV: Questions and Answers for Adolescents Living with HIV in time of COVID-19 – Available here

ICPCN recommends that all those caring for children with palliative care needs read and adhere to WHO guidelines to control the spread of the virus and protect their children. Below we have provided links to guidelines which can be helpful.

  • The WHO has a one stop shop for COVID-19 related issues
  • The WHO has a webpage with updates on the disease and a short online course: Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) for novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Comprehensive WHO guidance can be found here
  • WHO infection control guidance can be found here and we encourage everyone to follow this guidance.
  • WHO’s interactive map with updated data or confirmed cases and mortality rates, can be found here. 
  • The WHO’s guide on integrating palliative care and symptom relief into responses to humanitarian emergencies and crisis is a useful resource and can be found here.
  • The WHO’s specific guidelines for healthcare workers can be found here

Different countries and governments are following different policies on dealing with COVID-19 and it is important that individual palliative care providers take note of what their own governments are saying. Some examples from around the world include the following:

One of the challenges of COVID-19 is the impact that it is having and will continue to have, on the provision of health care, for example, the provision of home palliative care, respite care etc. As we hear of new developments we will try and keep this resource page up-to-date through signposting to the experts in the field.

Resources for Children

Several great resources have been developed for children about Covid-19 including storybooks, guides on how to talk to children about Covid etc. Some examples can be found here:

Resources for self care

Webinars

The recordings of the IAHPC, ICPCN, PALCHASE, WHPCA – Global Palliative Care Series Webinars can be found below:

More information and resources are available at globalpalliativecare.org

 

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