Introduction to the Special Issue on Palliative Care,End-of-Life,and Bereavement: Integrating Psychology Into Pediatric Palliative Care

Abstract

Objective: While most pediatric palliative care (PPC) teams do not yet routinely include psychology, roles for pediatric psychologists in PPC are expanding. The goals of this Special Issue are to promote awareness of the breadth and depth of PPC, highlight the diverse and growing roles for psychologists as PPC clinicians, scientists, educators, and advocates, and showcase the latest interdisciplinary PPC research. Method: The nine articles in this collection describe key PPC concepts and research approaches, the value of the interdisciplinary team in PPC, the impact of child illness and child loss on caregivers, needs of grieving families, ethical challenges in PPC and at end-of-life, and disparities among underrepresented and historically marginalized populations. Results: The series of articles curated for this Special Issue illustrate the many contributions psychologists offer to the field of PPC. Conclusion: PPC-specific training and development of core competencies are necessary pathways to improve future integration of pediatric psychologists in pediatric care delivery, research, and advocacy.

Implications for Impact Statement

Psychologists are being increasingly recognized as offering unique and valuable contributions to the field of pediatric palliative care (PPC) as clinicians, researchers, educators, and advocates. This Special Issue has been curated to be helpful to trainees, PPC psychologists, and non-PPC psychologists alike, as well as our interdisciplinary PPC team members, as we strive to further establish our discipline as integral to the PPC field.

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