Using a children's hospice for children with cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using a children’s hospice for children with cancer: a small qualitative study of the perceptions, opinions and experiences of parents of children with cancer using a children’s hospice.
IRAS ID
242657
Contact name
Fiona M. Rawlinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University: Research and Innovation Services
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
Childhood cancer not only kills children but side effects of treatment may cause lifelong complications and disability leading to early death. Referral to paediatric palliative care services may not occur at diagnosis of a cancer but when curative treatment has been exhausted. Subsequently, referral to a children’s hospice may be very late or even too late to support children with cancer and their families.
Parental perceptions, opinions and experiences of using a children’s hospice underpin how and who use children’s hospices. Consequently if parents’ perceptions, opinions and experiences of using a hospice for a child with cancer were identified and acknowledged hospice and health services could be developed accordingly. The aim of this pilot study is to investigate and report parents’ perceptions, opinions and experiences in using a children’s hospice for children with cancer and to consider how children’s hospices and health services can develop.
Parents would be eligible to take part if their child with cancer had been referred to and used a children’s hospice between 2011 and 2016. The child may continue to use the hospice due to lifelong side effects or ongoing treatment at an NHS cancer centre. Or, the child may no longer use the hospice due to cure, remission or death. Those eligible parents would be invited to participate in a semi- structured, recorded interview which would last 1-2 hours. The interviews would be transcribed and the data analysed.
The study will be undertaken at a children’s hospice with 2 residential sites in South East England.REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
18/NS/0028
Date of REC Opinion
17 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion