Children are seeing rapid changes to their routines and facing an unpredictable future. Palliative care teams may consider expanding their communication training and skillsets to help families consider caring ways to communicate with their children and grandchildren about the coronavirus. Palliative care teams are wise to encourage families to ground their communication with children on key values: honesty and trust, self-compassion, safety, sensitivity, connection, preparedness, community-building, recognition of death as a part of the lifecycle, and legacy.
Journal of pain and symptom management. 2020 Mar 30 [Epub ahead of print]
Meaghann S Weaver, Lori Wiener
Division of Palliative Care, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital and Medical Center, Omaha, NE. Electronic address: ., National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.