Compliance of palliative care standards in children with cancer in select Middle Eastern countries: a comparative study

Abstract

Background Palliative care is one of the necessary elements in the treatment of children with cancer. Adaptation of country-specific palliative care practices to universal standards can provide valuable information for health care stakeholders. Aim This study proposed to evaluate the global compliance of palliative care for children with cancer among select Middle Eastern countries. Methods In this comparative study, information about palliative care principles in Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Turkey was extracted from the literature. Data were collected using a checklist based on the conceptual framework of palliative care inspired by Wolff and Browne's (2011) standards. Then the extracted information was compared and analysed. Findings The palliative care standards in the selected countries did not show full compliance with global standards. In all selected countires, the child's and family's needs were considered, and a comprehensive care approach was followed. However, in none of the selected countries was the child's agreement to discharge from the hospital obtained, and neither was it ensured that the needs of the child and family were met. Conclusions Palliative care principles in the selected Middle Eastern countries are far from meeting universal standards. Accordingly, planning and training are recommended in different domains of nursing education as well as clinical nursing in the care of children. Healthcare authorities and politicians must provide the appropriate conditions for better provision of palliative care for children with cancer.

The physical and psychological outcomes of art therapy in pediatric palliative care: A systematic review

“…The sample size in these studies varied between 5 and 83 children in each study; in one study alone, the sample size was 5 children (on the drawing),[ 25 ] in one study, the sample size was 16 children (music therapy),[ 26 ] but the sample size in 11 studies was between 20 and 60 people,[ 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 ] and the sample size was more than 60 people in four studies. [ 38 39 40 41 ]…”

“…The age of participants in this study ranged from 0 to 17 years; the majority of studies were between 7 and 18 years old ( n = 10),[ 25 27 28 29 30 33 34 37 40 41 ] in three studies, the age of participants was 0 to 18 years,[ 35 36 38 ] and in four studies, the age of participants was between 2 and 17 years. [ 26 31 32 39 ]…”

“…In this review, 12 studies were performed randomized clinical trial (RCT)[ 26 28 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 40 41 ] and 5 studies were performed without a control group and as a comparison before and after a group,[ 25 29 30 32 38 ] of which one study in painting,[ 29 ] one study in rhythmic movements,[ 30 ] and two studies in music therapy,[ 32 38 ] and one study was a combination of painting and music. [ 25 ]…”

“…'s study group, children participated in six sessions of 45 min to perform rhythmic movements in hip-hop style. [ 30 ]…”

“…Furthermore, in this intervention, children made handicrafts with colored dough based on their painting. [ 30 ]…”