title: Home telemedicine for paediatric palliative care.
abstract: Children with life limiting conditions require intensive, complex management of the physical, psychosocial and spiritual issues that evolve for the child and their family as the focus of care moves from curative treatment to palliation. Optimal palliative care for children can be limited by the lack of health professionals with the necessary skills and experience to confidently and competently manage the care of both the child and the family. The University of Queensland's Centre for Online Health has been working closely with the Paediatric Palliative Care Service (PPCS) at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) in Brisbane, Australia, to investigate the potential of telemedicine for the delivery of specialist support in the home or local community. Research conducted in Queensland has shown how telemedicine can be effectively used to link the specialist paediatric palliative care team into the home of families caring for a child receiving palliative care, regardless of their physical distance from the RCH. This qualitative report describes two case studies, each illustrating the value of home telemedicine for families at this vulnerable and distressing time. This work should provide a useful insight for other specialty disciplines contemplating home telemedicine applications.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, Centre for Online Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia. natalie.bradford@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bradford
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herbert
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Lee-Anne
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hallahan
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Irving
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bensink
authors.forename: Nigel R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Armfield
authors.forename: Anthony C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000639:trends; D010371:Pediatric Nursing; D017216:Telemedicine