Project
A project to study aspects of mental health and behavioral health in pediatric end-of-life care is being explored by a team science approach at the University of Tennessee, College of Nursing, through the Pediatric End-of-Life Care Group.
Children with a prognosis of 6 months to live or less have two hospice options available at end-of-life: standard hospice care and concurrent hospice care. Standard hospice care provides physical and psychosocial support for children and families with a 6-month to live prognosis and requires patients to discontinue all life-prolonging therapies and treatments. However, recent changes in Medicaid regulations allow pediatric patients with serious illnesses to opt for concurrent care: the continuation of life-prolonging therapies while enrolled in hospice care. The primary goal of concurrent care is enabling pediatric patients with life expectancies of 6-months or less to transition more smoothly from life-prolonging treatments and therapies to care focused on comfort and quality of life. Though all state Medicaid plans are required to pay for both life-prolonging therapies and hospice services for children under the age of 21, as of 2017, 22% of states did not offer concurrent care and less than 30% of children and adolescents in hospice care received concurrent care.
Meet the Team
Our team has expertise in end-of-life and palliative care, AYA, and family research, as well as methodologic expertise in advanced statistics, large dataset analyses, and multi-methods research.
