Zernikow, Boris

Background: The interest in outcome measurement in pediatric palliative care is rising. To date, the majority of studies investigating relevant outcomes of pediatric palliative care focus on children with cancer. Insight is lacking, however, about relevant outcome domains for children with severe neurological impairment and their families.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify meaningful outcome domains of pediatric palliative care for children with severe neurological impairment and their families.

Background: Comprehensive outcome measurement in pediatric palliative care focusing on the entire unit of care, that is, the affected child and its family, is crucial to depict treatment effects. Despite its increasing relevance, no appropriate multidimensional outcome measures exist for the largest patient group in this field, namely children with severe neurological impairments.