Objective: To report our first case series of Dignity Therapy modified for a pediatric palliative care population. Background: Dignity Therapy has been utilized successfully with terminally ill adult patients to help restore a sense of dignity and personhood as well as cope with existential distress near the end of life. To our knowledge, there are no published reports of this treatment modality in pediatric patients. Methods: The authors report the experience of a single-center case series of Dignity Therapy in a pediatric palliative care population. The adult Dignity Therapy process was adapted to fit the pediatric population and their families. Modifications are explained in some detail, and specific cases are shared to illustrate the process. The goal of this case series is to report on the application of Dignity Therapy to the pediatric population. Setting/subjects: Inclusion criteria for the cases series consisted of children and their families who were aware that death may occur soon, were English speaking, admitted to the hospital, and receiving care from the palliative care service. Results: Eight patients or their caregivers have completed Dignity Therapy thus far through our program. Four consented to publication of their experience. Three patients were adolescents and told their own story and the story of one younger nonverbal child was told by her family. All four participants reported that the intervention was acceptable and expressed gratitude for their final generativity document. No patient or family reported distress or negative effects from participation in Dignity Therapy. Conclusions: This case series describes how Dignity Therapy is possible with adaptations in the pediatric population, and how Dignity Therapy by proxy may be possible for caregivers of patients unable to tell their own story.

Problem: Microaggressions are pervasive in daily life, including in undergraduate and graduate medical education and across health care settings. The authors created a response framework (i.e., a series of algorithms) to help bystanders (i.e., health care team members) become upstanders when witnessing discrimination by the patient or patient’s family toward colleagues at the bedside during patient care, Texas Children’s Hospital, August 2020 to December 2021. Approach: Similar to a medical “code blue,” microaggressions in the context of patient care are foreseeable yet unpredictable, emotionally jarring, and often high-stakes. Modeled after algorithms for medical resuscitations, the authors used existing literature to create a series of algorithms, called Discrimination 911, to teach individuals how to intervene as an upstander when witnessing instances of discrimination. The algorithms “diagnose” the discriminatory act, provide a process to respond with scripted language, and subsequently support a colleague who was targeted. The algorithms are accompanied by training on communication skills and diversity, equity, and inclusion principles via a 3-hour workshop that includes didactics and iterative role play. The algorithms were designed in the summer of 2020 and refined through pilot workshops throughout 2021. Outcomes: As of August 2022, 5 workshops have been conducted with 91 participants who also completed the post-workshop survey. Eighty (88%) participants reported witnessing discrimination from a patient or patient’s family toward a health care professional, and 89 (98%) participants stated that they would use this training to make changes in their practice. Next Steps: The next phase of the project will involve continued dissemination of the workshop and algorithms as well as developing a plan to obtain follow-up data in an incremental fashion to assess for behavior change. To reach this goal, the authors have considered changing the format of the training and are planning to train additional facilitators.

To complete the curriculum, learners rotating through a pediatric palliative care service are asked to submit a piece of reflective writing. Here, we share an edited version of the narrative one student submitted, accompanied by a brief consideration of the numerous benefits of reflective writing for medical trainees (including improved communication and professionalism skills, as well as increased levels of empathy and comfort when facing complex or difficult situations). Additionally, we describe how brief personal narratives may serve to reduce common misconceptions and confusion by educating patients, families, and clinicians about the reality and the role of pediatric palliative care.

Background: Implicit bias pervades health care, decreases quality of care, and disproportionately affects health outcomes for persons of color. Little is known about the use of biased language in the care of seriously ill children as documented in the electronic health record (EHR). Objective: To describe the use of biased language in the EHR of critically ill pediatric patients and to assess if there is a difference based on patient demographics and clinical characteristics. Setting/Participants: A retrospective review of EHRs was conducted on patients admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) with a palliative care consult at a large, urban academic center in the United States in 2019. Measurements: Demographics and clinical characteristics were compared between patients with and without biased language in their EHR in univariate and multivariate analyses. Frequencies of descriptor usage and health care team members using the descriptor were recorded. Exemplar quotes using biased language were recorded. Results: In 63 patients, no differences were found in demographic or clinical characteristics between patients with and without positively and negatively biased language. In adjusted analysis, there was no effect of demographics or clinical characteristics on the odds of having at least 1 instance of negatively biased language. Physicians and social workers used more biased language than other health care team members. Conclusion: Despite no statistically significant difference noted in this pilot study, linguistic biases exist in the EHR of seriously ill children, which may lead to testimonial injustice. Efforts to combat bias and racism in pediatric health care documentation may focus on revising note templates and educating across disciplines.