Parent and physician perspectives on quality of care at the end of life in children with cancer

Abstract

Purpose: To ascertain parents' and physicians' assessments of quality of end-of-life care for children with cancer and to determine factors associated with high-quality care as perceived by parents and physicians.

Methods: A survey was conducted between 1997 and 2001 of 144 parents of children who received treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital (Boston, MA) or Children's Hospitals and Clinics of St Paul and Minneapolis, MN, between 1990 and 1999 (65% of those located and eligible) and 52 pediatric oncologists.

Results: In multivariable models, higher parent ratings of physician care were associated with physicians giving clear information about what to expect in the end-of-life period (odds ratio [OR] = 19.90, P = .02), communicating with care and sensitivity (OR = 7.67, P < .01), communicating directly with the child when appropriate (OR = 11.18, P < .01), and preparing the parent for circumstances surrounding the child's death (OR = 4.84, P = .03). Parent reports of the child's pain and suffering were not significant correlates of parental ratings of care (P = .93 and .35, respectively). Oncologists' ratings of care were inversely associated with the parent's report of the child's experience of pain (OR = 0.15, P = .01) and more than 10 hospital days in the last month of life (OR = 0.24, P < .01). Parent-rated communication factors were not correlates of oncologist-rated care. No association was found between parent and physician care ratings (P = .88).

Conclusion: For parents of children who die of cancer, doctor-patient communication is the principal determinant of high-quality physician care. In contrast, physicians' care ratings depend on biomedical rather than relational aspects of care.