PEDIATRICS Vol. 62 No. 1 July 1978, pp. 106-113
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Martinson, I. M.
Right arrow Articles by Nesbit, M. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Martinson, I. M.
Right arrow Articles by Nesbit, M. E., Jr.

Home Care for Children Dying of Cancer

Ida M. Martinson R.N., Ph.D.1, Gordon D. Armstrong Ph.D.1, Dorothy P. Geis R.N., M.Ed.1, Mary Ann Anglim R.N., M.Ed.1, Evangeline C. Gronseth R.N., Ph.D.1, Helen Maclnnis M.A.1, John H. Kersey M.D.1, and Mark E. Nesbit Jr. M.D.1

1 School of Nursing and Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Hospitals have traditionally provided the setting for the treatment of children with cancer, including those in the terminal stage of their illness. However, when treatment that requires hospitalization has been discontinued and the child's cancer is still not under control, then the wisdom of continued hospitalization is questionable.

If the care that is required by the patient could be provided as effectively by the parents and by nurses at home, then it would be reasonable to make a home care option available to the families who desired it. The possible advantages of such home care would be improved satisfaction of the child, better adjustment to the situation by the family, and reduced cost. It is more comforting to the child to be in familiar surroundings with the parents at hand during the terminal stages of his or her illness. Most of the specialized and expensive sive facilities provided by the hospital are no longer needed by the child.

The preliminary findings from a research project dealing with home care of children with cancer are reported in this article. The feasibility and desirability of the home as an alternative to the hospital for children whose death from cancer was impending were examined. Administration of the home nursing service was at the time of the study separate from existing nursing services. Home care nurses were hired on an hourly basis and were recruited from hospitals and public health agencies. Two project staff nurses oriented the home care nurses to the special functions that they would serve, and also provided consultation and some of the actual home care.

Submitted on August 11, 1977
Accepted on November 21, 1977




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JCOHome page
J. Vickers, A. Thompson, G. S. Collins, M. Childs, and R. Hain
Place and Provision of Palliative Care for Children With Progressive Cancer: A Study by the Paediatric Oncology Nurses' Forum/United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group Palliative Care Working Group
J. Clin. Oncol., October 1, 2007; 25(28): 4472 - 4476.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Pediatric Oncology NursingHome page
J. Giovanola
Sibling Involvement at the End of Life
Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, July 1, 2005; 22(4): 222 - 226.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Pediatric Oncology NursingHome page
J. L. Vickers and C. Carlisle
Choices and Control: Parental Experiences in Pediatric Terminal Home Care
Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, January 1, 2000; 17(1): 12 - 21.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
Committee on Fetus and Newborn
Hospital Discharge of the High-Risk Neonate---Proposed Guidelines
Pediatrics, August 1, 1998; 102(2): 411 - 417.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Home Health Care Management PracticeHome page
M. Levetown
Pediatric Hospice Care: Not the Care of Small Adults
Home Health Care Management Practice, August 1, 1997; 9(5): 36 - 42.
[Abstract]

Home page
 Journal of Pediatric Oncology NursingHome page
A. Ishibashi
Four Concepts that Distinguish Pediatric Oncology Care in Japan From that in the United States: Telling the Diagnosis, Length of Hospitalization, Home Care, and Support Systems
Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, January 1, 1996; 13(4): 226 - 231.
[Abstract] [PDF]