Proactive care planning

Proactive care planning

Talking together about care and treatment

When a child is seriously ill, parents and caregivers face many questions and concerns. What is important to the child? What are the family's wishes? And how do we tailor care to these needs? Proactive care planning helps to discuss these questions in an open and respectful manner.

Proactive care planning
Belang
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Talking about what's important

Proactive care planning is a way of talking together about what's truly important for a child and their family. Not just today, but also for tomorrow and beyond. It helps explore thoughts, values, wishes, and concerns before major decisions are needed, so that care and treatment are better aligned with what the child and family want and need. Pediatric palliative care, therefore, isn't just about medical choices but about the child's life in all its facets: what provides stability, what offers comfort, and how do the child and family envision the future?


For families

As the parent of a seriously ill child, you face many challenges. There's often a lot of uncertainty. Yet, you have to make decisions about your child's care and treatment. How do you envision your child's future? Do your child's healthcare providers know what you value for your child and why? Your child's doctor or nurse may invite you for a consultation to talk about your child and the future. Together, you can discover which care and treatment is right for your child and family. You can also request a consultation yourself. On this page, you'll find materials to help you prepare for such a consultation.

For healthcare professionals

As a caregiver for a child with a serious medical condition, you want to provide the best possible care for the child and family in a way that suits them. To achieve this, it's important to explore the child and family's perspective and support them in discovering their own preferences and goals for future care and treatment. What is important to this child and family? You also want to prepare them for the future. What options are available to the child? What should the focus of care and treatment be? What do this child and family need, even as the end of life approaches? By discussing the future with the child and parents, you can tailor care together to the values, preferences, and goals of the child and family.

Proactive care planning for children and young people

If you have a serious illness or condition, you want to receive the care and treatment that's right for you and beneficial. Those around you need to know what's important to you so they can offer support. It's helpful for your parents to know this, but it's also important for your doctor or nurse to know.

To discover what's important to you, sometimes it's necessary to look ahead to the future. What matters to you when you're doing well? What matters to you when you're not doing so well?

Your doctor or nurse may invite you for a consultation to talk about you, your illness, and the future. You can also request such a consultation yourself.

Tools
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Tools

Methodology

Scholing
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Education

Proactive care planning requires specific communication skills from caregivers. Training helps professionals acquire these skills and use IMPACT effectively in their practice.


News about proactive care planning


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Jurrianne Fahner en Marijke Kars