Pediatric Concurrent Hospice Care A Scoping Review and Directions for Future Nursing Research

In 2010, forgoing curative therapies were removed as a hospice eligibility criterion for children through section 2302 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act called Concurrent Care for Children. Given that concurrent care is a federally mandated option for children and their families, no review of the science has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to systematically collect the evidence on concurrent hospice care, critically appraise the evidence, and identify areas for future nursing research. Of the 186 articles identified for review, 14 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies in this review described concurrent hospice care from a variety of perspectives: policy, legal, and ethics. However, only 1 article evaluated the impact of concurrent hospice care on outcomes, whereas several studies explained clinical and state-level implementation. There is a need for further studies that move beyond conceptualization and generate baseline and outcomes data. Understanding the effectiveness of concurrent hospice care might provide important information for future nursing research. The approaches used to disseminate and implement concurrent hospice care at state, provider, and family levels should be explored.