When palliative care involves children: critical conversations and pain and symptom highlights

This chapter examines various case studies to show the desired skills, attitudes, and knowledge needed for palliative care involving children, whether they are being cared for as patients or as family members. It puts forth several issues, for example: What is known about involving a child in discussions about significant illness and death? What might a child understand about serious illness and death? What are the main elements of sharing information about serious illness and death with a child? What is helpful in supporting a child though a serious illness or death? What do we know about supporting a child's involvement at the time of death?