Go Wish- Pediatrics : Pilot Study of a Conversation Tool in Pediatric Palliative Care

<p>Problem: Difficult conversations and decisions are an unfortunate reality for parents caring for children facing life threatening conditions. Confusing, inadequate, and inconsistent communication by health care providers makes advance care planning difficult in pediatrics.<br /> Design: A mixed methods design was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of an advance care planning conversation tool, <em>Go Wish- Pediatrics</em>, on the emotional resources and distress experienced by parents caring for children in palliative care.<br /> Methods: For this pilot study, a mailed invitation to participate was sent to 134 parents of children currently enrolled in palliative care which yielded a total of ten participants. Results: Parents in this study reported moderate levels of perceived emotional resources. The <em>Go Wish- Pediatrics</em> intervention resulted in no change in pre-post comparison of guilt and worry, unresolved sorrow and anger, long term uncertainty, and emotional resources. The most value most consistently reported as very important by the parents was their relationship with their spouse or significant other. For the qualitative portion of the study, data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The three emerging themes of the parents’ perception of the <em>Go Wish- Pediatrics</em> intervention included <em>operationalizing thoughts into action, empowered to join the conversation, and a lighthouse in the fog</em>. The mixed methods analysis utilized comments from the participant interviews to explore a deeper explanation of how parents experienced the parental distress and emotional resources subcategories.<br /> Conclusions: Parents identified that the <em>Go Wish- Pediatrics</em> intervention was beneficial in helping initiate conversations related to topics that are often difficult to approach. The intervention also served a communication bridge to support communication between spouses or significant others as well as with the healthcare team. The utilization of the <em>Go Wish</em> card game also revealed that parents involved with palliative care for their child have very different priorities. The use of the <em>Go Wish- Pediatrics</em> intervention helps individualize communication to the priorities and needs of families.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation - Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Graduate Nursing

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Potthoff, Meghan Ryan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mary Minton

• Nursing

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1140

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-2141