Conversations between adolescents suffering from chronic illnesses and their families about end-of-life wishes well before a serious event occurs won't discourage hope for recovery or cause additional emotional or mental harm to young patients, according to new research from Children's National Medical Center and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital published in the journal Pediatrics.

In the February edition of Pediatrics, Children's National psychologist Maureen Lyon, PhD, and a team of researchers used a professionally facilitated program to help adolescents living with HIV work with their families to plan ahead for managing their disease long term and include plans for adverse events that might require end-of-life, or palliative care, decisions.

This study provides the first randomized, controlled trial design for the study of "advance care planning," which, if constructive, family-centered, and aided by a trained professional, can lead to: An increase in the level of agreement between the parents and the child about medical decisions and treatments around chronic diseases…