No Secrets: Helping Families and Carers Talk to Children About Life-limiting Illness Guide for Healthcare Workers in Malawi

Published by The Work Continues, this illustrated booklet is designed to help healthcare workers to encourage families and carers to talk to children about their life-limiting illness. The booklet is based on research carried out by Dr Mary Bunn at Umodzi, a children's palliative care service at the paediatrics department of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. The publication both summarises the findings of international research and Dr Bunn's research in Malawi, and provides a simple guide for healthcare workers.
According to the research, families and carers of children with life-limiting illness, and sometimes healthcare staff themselves, are unwilling or unable to tell their children either about their diagnosis or the prognosis for the future. The guide includes tips on:

• encouraging healthcare teams to support the principle that children should be told about their own condition;
• practical ways healthcare staff can support families/carers; and
• where, how and how much families/carers should tell a child.