{"title":"Assessing palliative care self-efficacy among long-term care nurses: validation of a modified scale.","authors":"Peter Brink, Mary Lou Kelley","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2024.0012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2024.0012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The self-efficacy of healthcare professionals is critical to the effective delivery of palliative services. In the context of palliative care, self-efficacy refers to a healthcare provider's confidence in their ability to competently assess patient needs, communicate effectively and provide appropriate palliative interventions and support.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>This study examined the effectiveness of the Modified Self-Efficacy in Palliative Care Scale as a reliable and valid instrument for measuring self-efficacy among long-term care staff, with the broader goal of supporting improvements in palliative care practice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional research design was used. Data were collected from nurses working in long-term care settings using the Self-Efficacy in Palliative Care Scale, and analyses were conducted using SPSS statistical software. Reliability and item homogeneity were assessed through Cronbach's alpha coefficients, while the validity of the scale was examined using exploratory factor analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Cronbach's alpha values for the overall scale and its subscales ranged from .88 to .97, demonstrating strong internal consistency. Corrected item-total correlation coefficients ranged from .61 to .90 across all items, indicating good item homogeneity. Exploratory factor analysis, supported by parallel analysis, identified a three-factor structure consisting of communication, patient management and multidisciplinary teamwork. Factor loadings exceeded .60, and the model demonstrated acceptable fit.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings support the reliability and validity of the Modified Self-Efficacy in Palliative Care Scale for use among nurses in long-term care settings. The instrument appears to be a valuable measure for assessing nurses' confidence in delivering palliative care and for evaluating interventions designed to strengthen palliative care competencies.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>The redeveloped Modified Self-Efficacy in Palliative Care Scale for long-term care settings may serve as a practical tool for enhancing palliative care delivery and improving the quality of life of residents receiving care.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 10","pages":"498-502"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149187014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
María Elena Pérez Vega, Ricardo Lara Pérez, Teresa Aspera Campos, Edgar Noé Morelos García, Guillermo Castillo Martínez
{"title":"Palliative care in Mexico: a comparative analysis with the World Health Organization global framework.","authors":"María Elena Pérez Vega, Ricardo Lara Pérez, Teresa Aspera Campos, Edgar Noé Morelos García, Guillermo Castillo Martínez","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2024.0075","DOIUrl":"10.12968/ijpn.2024.0075","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Access to palliative care remains insufficient in low- and middle-income countries, including Mexico. The World Health Organization identifies six components for integrating palliative care into health systems: health policies, essential medicines, service delivery, education, research and community empowerment.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To compare Mexico's palliative care model with the World Health Organization framework, identifying gaps and priorities for improvement.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A qualitative comparative review examined national legislation, clinical guidelines, peer-reviewed literature and reports from national and international organisations against the six components of the World Health Organization framework.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Mexico has made progress in legislation, specialised services and professional education. However, services remain concentrated in urban areas, with limited access in rural communities and insufficient paediatric provision. Restricted opioid access, gaps in professional training, financial constraints and uneven implementation of existing policies hinder equitable care. Research and data collection also remain limited.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Strengthening palliative care in Mexico requires integration into primary healthcare, improved access to essential medicines, effective implementation of existing legal frameworks, dedicated funding and stronger research capacity.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>Expanding nursing and multidisciplinary training, supporting community-based services and raising awareness of patients' rights could improve access to timely, equitable and person-centred palliative care. Particular attention is needed for rural populations and children.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 10","pages":"479-486"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149187103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inpatient palliative care delivery models: a systematic scoping review.","authors":"Seemin Dashti, Abdolreza Shaghaghi","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2024.0065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2024.0065","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>There are multiple models for integrating hospital-based palliative care into healthcare systems. Further research is needed to inform best practice palliative care provision in hospitals.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To identify palliative care delivery models in hospitals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic scoping review was performed by an extensive search in PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and Magiran to recognise relevant publications that reported hospital-based palliative care delivery models/frameworks from 2010 to 2024. A Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used for quality assessment of the retrieved reports.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>A total 28 reports were identified that described six broad classes of hospital-based palliative care models/frameworks. The delineated models included provider-based, technology-based, element-based, issue-based, time-based and standards-based.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study draws on insights from hospital-based palliative care models to support decision-makers in adopting evidence-informed palliative care delivery models and frameworks, while promoting alignment between organisational missions and quality improvement strategies.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>Findings can inform context-sensitive, evidence-informed interventions to address barriers to integrating palliative care into routine hospital services, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and improve timely access for patients and their next of kin.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 10","pages":"466-478"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149187107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrating artificial intelligence in oncology nursing for patients receiving chemotherapy: a review article.","authors":"Ashwaq Salami, Ahmed Sohaib","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2024.0080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2024.0080","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve symptom management and enable early intervention for patients receiving chemotherapy.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To review applications of artificial intelligence in oncology nursing for chemotherapy-related symptom management, focusing on benefits, challenges and future directions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A structured literature review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, focusing on peer-reviewed studies from the past decade addressing artificial intelligence applications in chemotherapy symptom management.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Artificial intelligence technologies (including machine learning, natural language processing, clinical decision support systems and digital health tools), can support real-time symptom monitoring, prediction of adverse events and personalised interventions. Patient-generated data from self-reporting and wearable devices may enable earlier identification of complications and improve symptom tracking and patient engagement. However, most applications remain at an early stage. Key challenges include algorithmic bias, limited interpretability, data privacy and security, lack of standardisation and interoperability, workflow integration and training and infrastructure requirements.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Artificial intelligence could support proactive and personalised symptom management in oncology nursing through continuous monitoring, predictive assessment and earlier intervention. Successful implementation requires robust validation, representative datasets, transparent algorithms, effective data governance and integration into clinical workflows.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>Oncology nurses should develop skills in using artificial intelligence-enabled tools while recognising their limitations. Artificial intelligence should complement, rather than replace, clinical judgement, with further research needed to establish its effectiveness and safety in practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 10","pages":"487-497"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149187020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cliff Richard T Mabasa, Marlyn L Pascual, Mary Grace N Israel, Razzel Louise T Gatdula, Minerva A Macavinta, Amalia D Garcia, Lavia Lys Yuman, Jericho E Cruz, Ester Q Dela Cruz, Roison Andro Narvaez
{"title":"Bridging compassion and competence: an integrative literature review on the evolving role of palliative nursing in cancer care.","authors":"Cliff Richard T Mabasa, Marlyn L Pascual, Mary Grace N Israel, Razzel Louise T Gatdula, Minerva A Macavinta, Amalia D Garcia, Lavia Lys Yuman, Jericho E Cruz, Ester Q Dela Cruz, Roison Andro Narvaez","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2026.0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2026.0002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Palliative cancer care requires nurses to combine symptom management with compassionate communication, cultural awareness, ethical judgment and emotional resilience. However, evidence on these domains remains fragmented across nursing practice, education and workforce support.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>This review synthesised evidence on the intersecting roles of competence, compassion, emotional labour and educational preparation in palliative oncology nursing.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An integrative literature review was conducted, and 45 eligible studies were analysed using thematic synthesis.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Seven interrelated themes were identified: palliative nursing practice, oncology nursing, nurse competencies, compassionate care, end-of-life care, nurse- patient relationships and compassion fatigue. Findings showed that nurses provide essential symptom management, emotional support, communication, and family guidance across the cancer trajectory. However, technical competencies were more consistently emphasised than psychosocial, spiritual, cultural and ethical preparation. Compassionate care and trust-based relationships improved patient and family experiences, while workload pressure and repeated exposure to suffering contributed to compassion fatigue.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Palliative oncology nursing requires integration of technical competence and compassionate care. Strengthening education, competency standards, workplace support and compassion fatigue prevention is needed to sustain high-quality palliative nursing in cancer care.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 9","pages":"457-465"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149032258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Heart failure nurses' experiences of providing palliative care for people with heart failure.","authors":"Emma McMullan, Felicity Hasson, Sinead Keeney","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2025.0029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2025.0029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition with a high symptom burden and a high mortality rate.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To explore the experiences of heart failure nurses in delivering palliative care to patients with heart failure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three main themes emerged: the heart failure nurse's role in advance care planning; challenges and barriers to the provision of palliative care; and the positive impact of education and collaboration. Participants reflected on the shift in mindset with palliative care originally seen as outside their scope of practice to a care pathway and now being integral to their role. This was underpinned by the provision of specific training, sharing of practice and growing exposure to clinical practice across settings which facilitated this process.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Heart failure nurses are in a unique position to provide palliative care for their patients, but they highlight that current palliative care provision fails to meet the specific needs of patients with heart failure at a systems level. Palliative care services are inconsistent across and within systems and professions which is attributed to both a lack of resources and a lack of understanding. A collaborative model which integrates palliative care, cardiology and primary care teams is required to lead to more holistic patient care. Further research is needed to ascertain the most effective models to integrate palliative care into the management of people with heart failure and assess patient and caregiver perspectives.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>Palliative care should be integrated into routine heart failure management through clear referral pathways and multidisciplinary collaboration. Targeted education and training can support heart failure nurses in advance care planning, symptom management and end-of-life care, enabling earlier and more person-centred support for patients and caregivers.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 9","pages":"430-441"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149032352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Martina Sinta Kristanti, Suis Galischa Wati, Sri Setiyarini, Ema Madyaningrum, Kusrini Semarwati Kadar, Made Rini Damayanti, Agus Supingant, Yodang Yodang, Wahyu Dewi Sulistyarini, Mahmud Ady Yuwanto, Hikayati, Hilman Syarif, Christantie Effendy
{"title":"Strengthening palliative care in primary health centres through knowledge enhancement (SPARK) for nurses in Indonesia: a randomised controlled study.","authors":"Martina Sinta Kristanti, Suis Galischa Wati, Sri Setiyarini, Ema Madyaningrum, Kusrini Semarwati Kadar, Made Rini Damayanti, Agus Supingant, Yodang Yodang, Wahyu Dewi Sulistyarini, Mahmud Ady Yuwanto, Hikayati, Hilman Syarif, Christantie Effendy","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2025.0107","DOIUrl":"10.12968/ijpn.2025.0107","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Nurses working in primary health centres have limited access to palliative care education.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To evaluate the effectiveness of an online palliative care learning programme for primary health centre nurses in Indonesia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A randomised controlled trial with a parallel design was conducted at four time points (pre-post, 4 and 8 weeks). The intervention group received online modules, videos and five group meetings; the control group received only e-modules. Double-blinded randomisation with consecutive sampling was used.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 61 primary health centre nurses participated (intervention=34; control=27) from Java, Bali, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. The control group had higher knowledge scores at 8 weeks. Perceived difficulty was significantly lower in the intervention group immediately post-intervention, with no significant group differences in reported practice perceptions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The SPARK programme reduced perceived difficulty and supported reported practice among primary health centre nurses, offering a promising online education model for similar health systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 9","pages":"442-456"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149031485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maryam Rassouli, Amir Hossein Hashemi, Hadis Ashrafizadeh
{"title":"Palliative care status for people with Alzheimer's disease in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a review.","authors":"Maryam Rassouli, Amir Hossein Hashemi, Hadis Ashrafizadeh","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2024.0059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2024.0059","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Palliative care is a specialised interdisciplinary care which aims to improve the quality of life in patients with terminal illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, and their families. The Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) has the highest age-standardised prevalence of this disease worldwide, indicating an alarming increase in dementia in the region which requires appropriate palliative care planning for these patients.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>The aim of this review was to determine the status of palliative care in people with Alzheimer's disease in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Searches in PubMed, Scopus and ISI databases were conducted without language restrictions from 1998 to January 2023. The searched keywords were Palliative care, hospice care, terminal care, end of life care, Alzheimer's disease and Eastern Mediterranean region. After screening and selection, studies that were consistent with the purpose of this research were included. The required information was extracted, summarised and reported. Data management was done by EndNote-vxp8 software.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Approximately, half of Eastern Mediterranean region countries do not have any outpatient or inpatient services for palliative care, home care or hospice. The palliative care status for people with Alzheimer's disease in the region is discussed in four groups: no specific palliative care activity, capacity building for the provision of palliative care, the limited provision of palliative care and the provision of general palliative care. Alzheimer's associations, providing care service packages, designing care programmes and the movements in Alzheimer's-friendly communities have been helpful to some extent in some countries, but most of the services provided to patients include counselling, meaningful interactions/activities, seminars, webinars, training workshops and support groups. There are many challenges in this region in the areas of governance, public awareness, human resources, training and medicine for palliative care, especially for people with Alzheimer's disease.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In most Eastern Mediterranean Region countries, palliative care has remained in the early stages of development, and there is an urgent need to increase care and support for people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers. To overcome the barriers to treating people with Alzheimer's disease, improving care paths and raising public awareness is of great importance.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 9","pages":"409-429"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149031488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A methodological study investigating factors influencing the recruitment and attrition of participants in palliative care research.","authors":"Sofie Fournais Guld, Gitte Mølgård Hansen, Anette Torvin Møller, Emma Helledie, Monica Cekala, Brita Jørgensen, Mette Asbjoern Neergaard","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2025.0093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2025.0093","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Clinical palliative care research is challenging because of low recruitment and high attrition rates, although clinical research is much needed to improve the care provided.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To identify key barriers for recruitment and main reasons for attrition in palliative care research.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This methodological study was based on Danish participation in an international questionnaire study. All patients referred to the specialist palliative care teams at two hospitals between August 2022 and November 2023 were screened for eligibility. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Of the 681 patients screened, 236 (34.7%) were eligible for inclusion, and 59 (25.0% of eligible patients) completed the study. The most commonly reported reason for non-inclusion was physical frailty (15.3%). Eligible and ineligible patients differed significantly with respect to diagnosis and median survival, which was 75 days among eligible patients compared with 45 days among ineligible patients. No attrition occurred after enrolment, likely reflecting a restrictive inclusion practice.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Systematic screening and direct clinical assessment may support more effective recruitment and help reduce gatekeeping in palliative care research.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>Researchers and clinicians should adopt systematic and transparent recruitment processes, minimise unnecessary exclusion criteria and use clinically informed assessments of eligibility to reduce gatekeeping. Using less burdensome data collection methods may improve recruitment, enhance participant retention and increase the inclusivity and quality of palliative care research.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 8","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148803423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Catarina Sofia Rodrigues Preto, Luís Miguel Pereira Condeço
{"title":"Unidentified paediatric palliative needs: use of the Paediatric Palliative Screening Scale.","authors":"Catarina Sofia Rodrigues Preto, Luís Miguel Pereira Condeço","doi":"10.12968/ijpn.2025.0042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2025.0042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Paediatric palliative care should be provided to children and adolescents with complex chronic, life-limiting or life-threatening conditions, from the time of diagnosis, throughout the life course and beyond death, ensuring continuity of care.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To identify children and adolescents with complex chronic conditions at a Portuguese healthcare unit who may be eligible for referral to paediatric palliative care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An exploratory, descriptive quantitative and cross-sectional study was conducted, using the Portuguese version of the Paediatric Palliative Screening Scale. A total of 397 children and adolescents attending a paediatric developmental consultation were included in the study. Of these, 10 participants met the study's inclusion criteria and were assessed through telephone interviews with their parents.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The use of the screening tool enabled the identification of two participants (20%) who would benefit from referral.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Integrating systematic tools, such as the Paediatric Palliative Screening Scale, into routine consultations may enable earlier referral to palliative care, improving quality of care and support for families.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>Routine use of referral tools combined with improved palliative care literacy and communication may facilitate earlier identification of children with palliative care needs and more timely referral to specialist services. Future development of more holistic referral tools that incorporate functional, psychosocial and symptom-related needs could support more equitable, person-centred paediatric palliative care.</p>","PeriodicalId":94055,"journal":{"name":"International journal of palliative nursing","volume":"32 8","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148803500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}