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Review
. 2023 Jul 21:10:2333794X231188591.
doi: 10.1177/2333794X231188591. eCollection 2023.

Pediatric Oncology, Palliative Care and Low- or Middle- Income Countries: A Call for Action

Mohd Faizan Siddiqui  1 , Lea Nohra  2 , Mustafa Saleh  2 , Keval Thakkar  3 , Rishika Trivedi  4 , Sophie Nicolas Moujally  5 , Hadeel Deeb  6 , Gregory Nicolas  7 , Nancy Emmanuel  7
Affiliations
Review

Pediatric Oncology, Palliative Care and Low- or Middle- Income Countries: A Call for Action

Mohd Faizan Siddiqui et al. Glob Pediatr Health. .

Abstract

Pediatric oncology, which includes cancer screening and therapy in children, poses significant challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Palliative care improves children's and their families' quality of life. In LMICs, palliative care resources are scarce, resulting in poor symptom management, psychological support, and spiritual care. All relevant English-language articles on pediatric palliative oncology were searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Medline databases using the following keywords: "Pediatric Oncology," "Pediatric Palliative Oncology," "Pediatric Palliative Care," "Palliative Care," "Child Cancer," and "Lower- and Middle-Income Countries." This study highlights the significance of incorporating palliative care early in therapy and the recommendations may improve the competence of information provided by medical professionals to patients and families. LMICs have the potential to improve overall treatment and outcomes for child cancer patients and their families by prioritizing the integration of palliative care, guaranteeing a compassionate and dignified attitude toward the disease.

Keywords: LMICs; cancer; global health; palliative care; pediatric oncology; pediatric palliative oncology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The proportion of children requiring end-of-life palliative care by World Bank national income categories.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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