PEDIATRIC END-OF-LIFE CARE AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE: LIMITS, COSTS, AND CARE POLICIES

Abstract

Pediatric end-of-life care represents a complex challenge within public health, requiring the articulation of clinical, ethical, economic, and subjective dimensions. This study aims to analyze the limits of the biomedical model in pediatric terminal care, as well as to discuss the costs associated with life-prolonging interventions and the need for public policies guided by palliative care principles. Grounded in González Rey’s Qualitative Epistemology and Theory of Subjectivity, the study is based on data from a doctoral research conducted between 2021 and 2024 with 186 participants from different countries. The findings indicate that maintaining practices focused exclusively on cure contributes to increased healthcare costs and intensifies the suffering of children and families, highlighting the need to reorganize public policies. It is concluded that the incorporation of pediatric palliative care into public health systems is essential to promote comprehensive, ethical, and economically sustainable care.