title: Parents' Experiences of Pediatric Palliative Transports: A Qualitative Case Series.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pediatric palliative transports, the practice of transporting critically ill children home for end-of-life care including extubation, are an option for children requiring high levels of medical support at end of life. Little is known about the experience from the perspective of the children and families.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To understand parents' perspectives on the experience of pediatric palliative transports.
  
  
  METHODS
  Open-ended interviews were conducted using a qualitative descriptive design. Each parent was asked to reflect on the process of bringing their child home to die. Conventional content analysis was used for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine parents participated. The decision to transport the child home was a process motivated by promises to the child or a conviction that it was the right thing to do. The parents were gratified by the attention to safety and detail involved, but the actual transport home was stressful to them. The arrival home was typically recounted as a celebration. Being home provided time with the child in the context of their family and contributed to their lives. Memories of the experience brought comfort and a sense of fulfillment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Each parent found the experience positive and meaningful. The child's experiences when alive, not events at the time of death, were remembered. All parents recommended palliative transports, emphasizing the importance of home and family, when desired. These interviews strongly suggest that palliative transports make a positive, important contribution to the care of at least some children facing end of life, and their families.
authors.affiliation: Critical Care Transport Team, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Harriett
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular and Critical Care Programs, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mott
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Monica E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address: richard_goldstein@dfci.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003643:Death; D003657:Decision Making; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008568:Memory; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods
keywords: Pediatric; compassionate extubation; critical care transport; location of death; palliative care