Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures: the strategy for children and young people’s health: disabled children, and safeguarding for all.

Better Care: Better Lives

Children’s Palliative Care in Africa is a new textbook aiming to respond to the enormous and growing need for children’s palliative care services across the continent.
This comprehensive textbook is the first to be written by practitioners working in Africa specifically to meet the palliative care needs of children.
Access ICPCN’s website and download the book here

Conquering your child’s chronic pain
by Lonnie Zeltzer and Christina Blackett Schlank

This book has been written by one of the pioneers and leading thinkers in the area of chronic pain in children. It is easy to read, and shows in a precise and scientific way , the clinical and psychological aspects of children’s chronic pain. It is written for the parents of children with chronic pain but is a very usefull tool for any healthcare worker, developping the different approaches to treatment. I highly recommend it.

Dr Chantal Wood
Unité de Traitement de la Douleur
Hôpital Robert Debré
48 Bd Serurier
75019 Paris

Oxford Handbook of PALLIATIVE CARE
by Max S. Watson; Caroline F. Lucas; Andrew M. Hoy; Ian N. Back

Concise and succint source busy professionals need in their daily practice

Geared to specialist doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals, the practical Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care covers all aspects of palliative care, including the historical and epidemiological background of palliative care, the growth of palliative medicine as a specialty, as well as major physical, psychological and spiritual, and symptom management issues from diagnosis to bereavement care.

In addition to adult care, this essential Handbook includes an extensive paediatric section. The oncology chapter outlines the treatment regimes of the common cancers and details the chemotherapeutic agent including their side-effects. This book will prove invaluable for doctors, nurses and professionals allied to medicine who are involved in the day-to-day care of adults, children, and families with palliative care needs.

This book provides a practical and informative guide which promotes a model of care that is sufficiently flexible to address the complex and multifaceted needs of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The editors identify the medical, psychological and practical issues of caring for terminally ill children and their families.

It is the first authoritative, systematic and comprehensive text to define the increasingly important and evolving specialty of paediatric palliative care. It explores both the clinical aspects and the multidimensional and holistic nature of care for the dying child, based on the knowledge that all human experience has a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual impact.

Procedure related cancer pain in children
by Liossi, Christina

Research has demonstrated that children with cancer and their parents regards procedure-related pain as one of the most difficult parts of having cancer, and their distress continues years after the completion of anti-cancer treatment.

This is a practical 'how to' book that will provide readers with the knowledge, skills, structure and techniques to help young patients and their families to cope with painful medical procedures. The author has gathered together over 10 years experience in clinical paediatric oncology and palliative care to provide a concise overview of procedure-related pain.

The book describes the pharmacological and psychological methods of pain relief and how they may be combined, along with the difficulties that may be encountered in their implementation. It also encourages better integration between research work and clinical practice.

www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1279924

Making Every Moment Count
By Leora Kuttner, PhD
National Film Board of Canada

Thoughtful and evocative, this new video addresses the complex issues surrounding end-of-life care for children. Psychologist and award-winning filmmaker Leora Kuttner, PhD, profiles five children with life threatening illness, and the families and health professionals who support them. The film clearly shows that, despite popular belief, children can talk about end-of-life issues if given proper support, and that doing so can help both them and their families cope with the realities of their situation.

The film focuses on the emotional and psychological aspects of pediatric palliative care. It features deeply caring physicians, nurses, therapists and others working with families whose children range from newborns to teenagers. Their care takes place in the hospital, in hospice programs and at home. Designed for health and social service professionals and students, this program is also compelling viewing for families and anyone caring for seriously ill children, as well as for the general public.

www.fanlight.com/catalog/films/405_memc.php