Children's palliative care encompasses the clinical, psychological, ethical and spiritual aspects of care for children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions. Children affected by these conditions have unique and multiple care needs that are very different to those of adults. Whilst in some countries child-specific palliative care services and practices have been in place for a number of years, in many others the recognition of needs and the development of dedicated paediatric palliative care services are still at an early stage.
For over a decade the Fondazione Maruzza Lefebvre D'Ovidio Onlus has been operating at a national and international level for the improvement and reorganization of palliative care practices for infants, children and adolescents. Since 2006, the Foundation, in collaboration with the European Association of Palliative Care, has supported the activities of the European Steering Committee on Palliative Care for Children and related EAPC Taskforces.
The aim of the 1st European Congress on Paediatric Palliative Care is to provide an international platform for interdisciplinary knowledge sharing where experiences, current topics and new perspectives on key issues regarding palliative care for children and their families can be debated, compared and discussed by those working with critically ill children throughout Europe and beyond.
