Synopsis:In a series of studies involving parents of seriously ill children, a major factor identified by parents in end-of-life decision-making was “being a good parent”. Using qualitative and descriptive methods, this factor has now been defined and measured. This presentation will look at the evolution of the idea of being a good parent to a seriously ill child, the strategies used by clinicians to help parents achieve this, and an intervention for good parent/clinician communication in a paediatric oncology setting. The link between being a good parent and the health of the family will also explored, along with the use of the intervention in critical care and palliative care more widely.

Speaker:Professor Hinds is the Director of the Department of Nursing Research and Quality Outcomes, and Associate Director of the Center for Clinical Translational Science at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. and holds an adjunct professorship within the schools of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University the University of Maryland. Professor Hinds is an Oncology Nursing Society Distinguished Nurse Researcher and the Association of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Distinguished Nurse Researcher. She currently serves on the NCI Symptom and Quality of Life Scientific Committee among many others and is the editor-in-chief for Cancer Nursing: An International Cancer Journal. Professor Hind’s recent work is focused on end of life and suffering of seriously ill children and adolescents with the goal of gaining comprehensive knowledge of end-of-life perspectives through the voices of children who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses and their families.