Death & Dieing - Unit 1 :(

Question 1

What are some conditions leading to death in childhood?

Answer 1

Cancer, complications of prematurity, anomalies, trauma, etc.

Question 2

Palliative care - def

Answer 2

Interdisciplinary approach to management of child’s life threatening or life-limiting illness from diagnosis through death when cure may not be possible - focuses on preventing or relieving the child’s symptoms and support of the child and family.

Question 3

Palliative care - intended to hasten death. T/F?

Answer 3

FALSE - it is not intended to hasten death, just help the kid.

Question 4

What are some pros to pain control?

Answer 4

Comfort, quality of life, easier dying

Question 5

What are some cons to pain control?

Answer 5

Decreased LOC, opiate side effects, fears of addiction

Question 6

Chemo - cons? pros?

Answer 6

prolongs life, quality of life, but could cause low blood counts, risk of infection, painful side effects.

Question 7

Supplemental nutrition - pros and cons?

Answer 7

Pros = belief that child is thirsty or hungry so parents feel better, helps with fear of starvation, etc…..but can cause N/V, CHF, respiratory secretions, etc.

Question 8

If a kid says they’re ready to see Jesus or saw Jesus…believe them. T/F?

Answer 8

True - they’re ready, and they know that.

Question 9

Should we fib and not provide support and not remain neutral when discussing changing from curative to comfort measures?

Answer 9

NO

Question 10

Should children be told?

Answer 10

YES. They need honest and accurate information.

Question 11

Encourage parents to approach the discussion of death gently. T/F/

Answer 11

True

Question 12

Let the child’s questions guide the conversation. T/F/

Answer 12

True

Question 13

Don’t use words like die …be vague. T/F?

Answer 13

FALSE

Question 14

Don’t say “died because sick” - T/F?

Answer 14

True

Question 15

How do infants and toddlers react to death?

Answer 15

Likely have no concept, very egocentric, don’t like how parents are acting, etc.

Question 16

How do preschoolers reacher to death?

Answer 16

Magical thinking (they think they caused it), they think death is temporary and they think literally

Question 17

How do school age children perceive death?

Answer 17

Better understanding, still have some magical thinking, guilt, personify death as devil, god, ghost or bogeyman, may be preoccupied with what happens to the dead body.

Question 18

School age kids - dont’ fear the process of dying and death itself. T/F?

Answer 18

FALSE- they do fear it.

Question 19

For school age kids, we need to prepare them for the death of a loved one. T/F?

Answer 19

True

Question 20

Adolescents - not mature about death. T/F?

Answer 20

FALSE

Question 21

Adolescents - do they think they’ll die?

Answer 21

NO

Question 22

Hospital rooms - make as comfy and homey as possible. T/F?

Answer 22

True

Question 23

Most children want to die at home. T/F?

Answer 23

True

Question 24

Palliative care - distraciton, relaxation techniques and guided imagery can be a part of it. T/F?

Answer 24

True

Question 25

Prepare the families for things that can occur with certain diseased areas, like brain tumors and seizures. T/F?

Answer 25

True

Question 26

Parents need to know what to expect and what to do when it happens. T/F?

Answer 26

True

Question 27

What are some signs that death is near?

Answer 27

Sleeping more, decreased appetite, urinary frequency decreased, less responsive, slow & shallow breathing, cheyne-stokes (irregular, deep and gasping with long periods of apnea), pale/grayish blue skin color, cool to touch, fixed gaze

Question 28

Final separation of the parents from the body can be the most traumatic. T/F?

Answer 28

True

Question 29

What’s the problem with an unexpected death?

Answer 29

Well, many things but especially that there’s no time to prepare.

Question 30

What is grief?

Answer 30

The process of experiencing physiological, psychological, behavioral, social and spiritual reactions to the loss of a child that is highly individualized.

Question 31

Parental grief - what is it?

Answer 31

Comes from loss of child….never completed, will go on forever.

Question 32

0-3 years old - how do they act with sibling death?

Answer 32

Might be fussy, regressive, have different habits. They may not understand death but they know something is up.

Question 33

3-6 years - how do they view sibling death? Should we be truthful?

Answer 33

Temporary and reversible. Want to know when they’re coming back. Magical thinking strikes here! Be truthful!

Question 34

6-9 years old - how do they react to sibling death?

Answer 34

Understand the finality - but it might have scary stuff in it. It might become a common theme in their play. They might also have fears about death.

Question 35

9-12 - sibling death reactions?

Answer 35

similar to adult - finality, etc. Understand what caused it. Concerned about what will change in their world, etc.

Question 36

12-18 years old - reactions to sibling death?

Answer 36

Adult understanding. Abstract thinking. Might become rebellious and cause anxiety about the future.

Question 37

12-18 years old - involve in decisions?

Answer 37

yes

Question 38

Child needs someone to watch them during the funeral - let the parents go and be themselves. T/F?

Answer 38

True

Question 39

What are symptoms of caregiver fatigue?

Answer 39

Apathy, isolation, bottled up emotional, substance abuse