ArticlePalliative medicine2021
'Cold bedrooms' and other cooling facilities in UK children's hospices, how they are used and why they are offered: A mixed methods study.
Article in Palliative medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Healthcare professionals' perspectives of providing end-of-life care for infants, children and young people in acute settings: A multi-site qualitative study.Palliative medicine · 2025Article
- 'It was like an airbag, it cushioned the blow': A multi-site qualitative study of bereaved parents' experiences of using cooling facilities.Palliative medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe death of a child is acutely distressing. Evidence on the benefits and value to parents of spending time with their dead child have now been integrated into routine practice and is regarded as a bereavement support intervention. UK children's hospices have a tradition of using 'cooling facilities' (cold bedrooms, cooled blanket/mattress) to extend this period of time by slowing deterioration of the body.
aimsTo describe: (1) type and use of cooling facilities in UK children's hospices, policies and practices regarding their use, and any changes over time. (2) Director of care's views on the purpose of cooling facilities and the rationale for hospice-specific practices.
methodsAn explanatory mixed-methods design consisting two phases: a crosssectional survey of directors of care of UK children's hospices (
results41/52 hospices completed the survey and 13 directors of care were interviewed. All hospices had cooling facilities. Some offered use of portable cooling facilities at home, though take-up appears low. Hospices differed in approaches to managing care and duration of use. Views on whether parents should observe deterioration informed the latter. Directors of care believed they provide families with time to say 'goodbye' and process their loss. Challenges for staff were reported.
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