While several studies have examined ‘what’ families want with regard to the place of a child’s end-of-life care and death, few have explored ‘how’ parents reach a decision. (1) to develop a model explaining how parents of a child with a life-threatening illness in Greece decide about the place of end-of-life care and death; (2) to identify the factors affecting decision-making; (3) to consider the implications for clinical practice. Grounded theory study of bereaved parents using semi-structured open-ended interviews following Strauss and Corbin’s principles of data collection and analysis. Semi-structured interviews with 36 bereaved parents of 22 children who died at home (n = 9) or in a paediatric hospital (n = 13) in Athens, Greece. (1) Decisions regarding place of care and death were reached in one of four ways: consensus, accommodation, imposition of professional decisions on parents or imposition of parents’ decisions without including professionals. (2) Six factors were identified as affecting decisions: awareness of dying, perceived parental caregiving competence, perceived professional competence, parents’ view of symptom management, timing of decision-making, and being a ‘good parent’. (3) Decisions were clear-cut or shifting. Few parents did not engage in decisions. Parents’ decisions about place of end-of-life care and death are affected by personal, interpersonal, timing and disease-related factors. Parents are best supported in decision-making when information is presented clearly and honestly with recognition of what acting as ‘good parents’ means to them, and opportunities to enhance their caregiving competence to care for their child at home, if they choose so.

The purpose of our phenomenological hermeneutic study was to explore the lived experiences of Greek infertile women who achieve a pregnancy through the use of sperm, oocyte, or embryo donation or surrogate motherhood. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 infertile women. Findings suggest that conceiving a child through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is lived as a highly distressing experience, comprising long waiting periods for medical results, several failed attempts, and treatment options with uncertain outcomes. The analysis of women’s accounts revealed a constitutive pattern, journeying between hope and despair, and three associated themes: (a) coping with uncertainty and treatment failures, (b) exploring options and decision making, and (c) being supported by spouse and professionals. Findings illuminate the specific meaning-based coping processes, decision-making patterns, and sources of support that help women who pursue treatment until they give birth to a child, to manage highly stressful situations and critical decisions.

This mixed method study investigated the short- and long-term effects of peer loss on eight adolescents after a fatal school bus accident. Phenomenological analysis of their retrospective narratives revealed three patterns (living in despair, collecting my pieces, remembering, and moving on). Quantitative findings indicate progressive decrease in post-traumatic stress symptoms severity across time; increase in positive changes in perceptions of self, others, and life between 18 and 34 months; and stable continuing bond with the deceased peers.

Background/Objectives: Patients with advanced non-malignant chronic conditions experience illness burdens and palliative care needs comparable to those of oncology patients, yet palliative care is often introduced late. Identifying individuals with potential palliative care needs is complex, and although multiple tools exist, the most appropriate approach for assessing needs in this population remains unclear. This umbrella review aimed to identify and evaluate tools used to systematically assess palliative care in adults with advanced non-malignant chronic conditions, with a specific focus on their content, structure, and psychometric properties. Methods: An umbrella review of systematic reviews was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidance. Four electronic databases (Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycINFO) were searched from inception to 30 June 2025. Eligible systematic reviews were screened, critically appraised, and synthesized narratively. Results: Seven systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria, collectively identifying 35 unique needs-assessment tools. Five tools (SPICT, GSF-PIG, QUICK GUIDE, NECPAL, and P-CaRes) incorporated both general and disease-specific palliative care indicators. At the same time, four (PC-NAT, SPEED, NAT, and IPOS) addressed needs across physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains. Psychometric data were available for six tools across three reviews. The original NAT and SPICT demonstrated good reliability; however, the Dutch version of the NAT showed poor validity. SPEED and one unnamed palliative care tool showed good reliability, whereas the Surprise Question demonstrated unclear validity. Italian-SPICT and Israeli-NECPAL exhibited strong content validity. Conclusions: Despite limited evidence, the NAT: PD-HF shows particular promise for identifying palliative care needs in patients with heart failure. Tools such as SPICT and NECPAL are widely used and adapted for advanced non-malignant chronic conditions, but further psychometric evaluation is required. Additional studies are needed to clarify the clinical utility of these tools for broader implementation in assessing palliative care needs.