ArticleBMJ paediatrics open2026
How many children have palliative care needs and which of them are less likely to be actively seen by services? A cross-sectional analysis of survey data.
Article in BMJ paediatrics open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe prevalence of children with life-limiting conditions is increasing. It is difficult to estimate palliative care needs in this population, and few studies have explored the characteristics or service use patterns of this group. The aim of this study was to estimate the number of children with palliative care needs in North West England, exploring associations between patient characteristics and service activity.
methodsAll services providing healthcare to children in North West England were surveyed to provide data on children (0-19 years) with palliative care needs within a census period (6-15 February 2023). Data collected included demographic information, diagnosis and care patterns. Point prevalence of need was calculated for all children by age group and ethnicity. Associations between patient characteristics (eg, age, ethnicity) and being actively seen by services were explored in logistic regression models.
results49 services provided data on 1694 children. Point prevalence of need was 10.1 per 10 000 0-19-year-olds (95% CI 9.6 to 10.6). Children of South Asian ethnicity were less likely to be actively seen (defined as seen or called within the census period) than those of White ethnicity (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.64).
conclusionsDisparities in the use of children and young people's palliative care services were demonstrated. Future research should focus on developing measures of complex need for palliative care for children with life-limiting conditions, as well as inclusive and appropriate interventions to address disparities.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.