The Child Life Imperative in Adult Palliative Care.

Abstract

Palliative care, whether in the form of early Supportive Palliative Care or later in the course of illness with Hospice, serves not only the seriously ill patient, but the patient's family members. When the family includes children associated with the seriously ill patient, the needs of those children often go unmet, especially in adult palliative care. This paper focuses on the work done and the methods used by Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLSs) working in adult palliative care. Using the literature and our 15+ year experience integrating Child Life Services into both community and academic center Supportive Palliative Care services, we argue it is imperative that the core adult palliative care interdisciplinary team include Certified Child Life Specialists trained to help children of the seriously ill adult understand their loved adult's illness, and to help adults communicate effectively with and better support the child.