| Study | Participants | Study design | Observation period | n | Intervention group | Comparison group | Outcome measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postier et al., 2014 (18) | Age 1–21 yr Enrolled in home PPCP/hospice program | RChBA* | Before: 1 yr After: 1 yr | 425 | After PPCP | Before PPCP | Change in no. of hospital admissions, LOS and total billed charges for hospital/ED stay |
| Fraser et al., 2013 (11) | Age ≤ 19 yr Death from cancer | RCS | Referral to death | 497 | Hospice group (n = 132) | Control group (n = 311) | Total no. of hospital admissions, no. of planned hospital admissions, no. of emergency admissions |
| Keele et al., 2013 (12) | Age < 18 yr Death in hospital from any cause > 5 d after admission | RCS | Last admission before death | 24 342 | PC group (n = 919) | No PC (n = 23 423) | Age, sex, LOS, major group category diagnostic, medications, procedures in last admission |
| Arland et al., 2013 (10) | Age 1 mo–19 yr Death from brain tumour | RChBA† | Before: 5 yr After: 10 yr | 114 | After group (n = 92) | Before group (n = 22) | Symptoms, hospital admissions (no., LOS), location of death |
| Smith et al., 2013 (19) | Children (age not defined) Hospital costs after discharge were in top tenth percentile | RCS + RChBA* | RCS: up to 2 yr RChBA: undisclosed | 1 001 | PPCP group (n = 81) | Control group (n = 920) | Cost, demographics, use of technology |
| Gans et al., 2012 (5) | Age ≤ 20 yr Life-threatening condition Enrolled in PPCP | RChBA* | Before: 12 mo‡ After: 18 mo | 123 | After PPCP | Before PPCP | LOS, medical expenditures, family’s quality of life and satisfaction |
| Pascuet et al., 2010 (13) | Children (age not defined) Used respite at pediatric hospice | RChBA* | Before: 1 yr After: 1 yr | 66 | After respite | Before respite | LOS, ED and outpatient visits, overall cost in hospital/hospice admission |
| Dussel et al., 2009 (14) | Children (age not defined) Death from cancer | XS survey + RCS | Last month of life | 140 | Location of death planned (n = 88) | Location of death not planned (n = 52) | End-of-life planning, end-of-life support from physicians, use of home care, hospital resource utilization, place of death |
| Knapp et al., 2009 (15) | Age 1–21 yr Death from any cause | RCS | Last year of life | 1 527 | Hospice (n = 85) | No hospice (n = 848) | Hospice use, hospice expenditures, other expenditures |
| Ward-Smith et al., 2008 (17) | Children (no age bracket defined) Enrolled in PPCP | RCS§ | 6 mo before death | 18 | PPCP group (n = 9) | Non-PPCP group (n = 9) | Total hospital costs, LOS, differences in types of procedures |
| Belasco et al., 2000 (16) | Children (no age bracket defined) Referred to home PPCP | Case series | 1 d | 3 | Home care | Hospital care | Type of interventions delivered, place of death, comparison of charges of care |
Note: ED = emergency department, LOS = length of stay, PC = palliative care, PPCP = pediatric palliative care program, RChBA = retrospective cohort before–after study with no control, RCS = retrospective cohort study, XS = cross-sectional study. *The same patients were followed before and after the intervention with no controls. †Different cohorts of patients were followed before and after the intervention (historical cohort comparison). ‡Length of “before” follow-up period unclear. §Described by the authors as a case–control study but technically it was a cohort comparison.