Bringing Children into Focus in Adult Palliative Care: Pilot Evaluation of a Family Communication Educational Intervention

Background: Dependent children’s support needs may be overlooked in adult palliative care, and clinicians report limited preparation for family communication. Objective: To develop and pilot an educational intervention to increase clinician self-efficacy in supporting families’ serious illness communication with dependent children. Methods: Interdisciplinary palliative care clinicians in one health system completed a 1-hour workshop and matched pre/postsurveys assessing four confidence domains. Changes among 20 matched respondents were analyzed with paired t -tests and Wilcoxon sensitivity tests. Results: Mean composite confidence increased from 5.2 to 6.6 (10-point scale). Confidence improved in identifying children’s needs ( d = 1.36), exploring family concerns ( d = 0.92), advising parents what to tell a child ( d = 1.10), and preparing caregivers ( d = 0.86; all p ≤ 0.001). Most respondents intended to intervene (85%) and communicate with families (90%). Conclusion: Brief, interdisciplinary training was associated with meaningful short-term confidence gains. Larger studies should assess sustained practice change and family outcomes.