Assessment of need for a children's hospice program

Canuck Place, North America's first free-standing pediatric hospice of its kind, opened in 1995 in British Columbia, Canada. The province-wide program encompasses a broad spectrum of services intended to support community-based care and provide periodic, facility-based respite and palliative care to children with life-threatening, progressive illness and to their families. Loss and grief support is another integral component of the program. The concept of pediatric hospice care is founded on the premise that dying children and their families can benefit from care designed to maximize present quality of life; yet, the creation of such programs must be based on demonstrated need. One vital step in the development of the Canuck Place program was assessing the need for such a program within the province. Data from both traditional quantitative and less traditional qualitative sources were used to document and put forth an argument in support of developing a children hospice program. The final report addressed several components that are summarized in this article for tile purposes of assisting others who may wish to undertake similar projects in their own communities.