Opportunity for Children’s Palliative Care to Embrace Technology
From Executive Director Laura Dale-Harris
This month, I joined practitioners, researchers and policy leaders at the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) World Congress in Helsinki, Finland. It was a powerful opportunity to share clinical insights and country-level progress, but it also underscored the urgent need for a more systemic and future-oriented approach.
As a field, palliative care continues to deliver immense value through human connection, compassion and expertise. But to meet tomorrow’s needs, we must actively shape how we evolve, ensuring our models, tools and systems keep pace with the world around us.
Key Themes and Takeaways
The Congress offered an overview of the current landscape in Europe:
Ageing Health Workforce: Over 30% of nurses in Europe are over the age of 55. Alongside an overall ageing population, this underscores the need for long-term strategies to build, retain and support the palliative care workforce.
Training and Access: Only 15 European countries include palliative care in the core training of all future doctors and nurses (Carlos Centeno, EAPC Atlas of Palliative Care in the European Region 2025). Without foundational education, equitable access to palliative care will remain uneven across the region.
System Constraints: Several presentations highlighted how structural issues limit care. In Georgia, for example, patients prescribed opioids must collect them from police stations that are only open one day per week — a reminder that policy and design directly shape access.
Paediatric Palliative Care: Though not a central theme, it was encouraging to see increased attention. Participants listened to a powerful plenary session from Professor Lorna Fraser, who shared, “The priority now is to stop describing problems but to move forward to develop, evaluate and implement the solutions.” Read more about the nuances of paediatric palliative care in the Atlas from our colleagues here.
A Moment to Engage with Innovation
Innovation, particularly digital innovation, was not a major focus of the Congress, but it was present. It should be more central in our sector to meet the needs of patients.
Digital health, artificial intelligence and applied technologies are reshaping how care is delivered across sectors. In palliative care, both for adults and children, we risk falling behind if we don’t actively explore how these tools can serve — rather than replace — compassionate, person-centred care. The deeply human nature of our work makes thoughtful innovation more essential.
Technology can help lighten the burden on families navigating complex systems. It can support professionals working under pressure. And it can promote more equitable access to training, information and care.
Children’s palliative care may seem less naturally aligned with digital innovation, but in reality, its complexity and humanity are exactly why responsible, well-designed technology should play a role.
Examples of Thoughtful Progress
I was encouraged by initiatives at the Congress that hinted at what's possible:
PALLIAKID, funded by the European Union and spanning ten countries, explores how digital approaches can support training, care planning and collaboration.
We were proud to share the Magnify Tool, co-developed with practitioners, to support service design in paediatric palliative care.
I was also struck by ComGuide, a virtual reality -based tool for training clinicians in sensitive conversations, an example of how technology can enhance, not dilute, clinical skills.
As systems face increasing strain, the capacity to test, adapt and scale innovative approaches will be essential. Paediatric palliative care shouldn’t just be included - it should lead. Its complexity and humanity make it a powerful driver of smarter, more compassionate systems. At Global Treehouse, we’re committed to making sure this field helps shape what comes next.
Captions, left to right: (1) Dr Eve Namisango, Medical Director of the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) and Global Treehouse Advisor, views the Magnify Tool poster. (2) Dr. Annabel Howell, Medical Director of the Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) and Global Treehouse Advisor, with Laura Dale-Harris (3) Atlas from the Congress available here (4) Abdelnasser Gaafar, volunteer at Global Treehouse and EAPC presenter, and Laura Dale-Harris.