Pictured above: Jane Coad

A leading expert working with children and young people with long-term and palliative care needs says that we should be listening more to the wishes of the child when discussing care plans.

Jane Coad, the newly appointed Professor in Children and Family Nursing at Coventry University, said that engaging more with children over their health needs not only benefits them, but the family and the health authorities as a whole.

Speaking at her inaugural lecture at Coventry University earlier this week, Professor Coad, who is the only Professor of Children's Nursing in the West Midlands, said children appreciate being involved in the planning of their long term care:

"I have worked extensively with children and young people and the message that I get back from them time and time again is that they want to be involved and have their voices heard.

"Children and young people have very different challenges and support needs to those of their parents and by using the kind of media that they are used to, such as websites and interactive games, we can engage them in a way that gives them more information about their care and also explains the approach we want to take with their illness."

Professor Coad said that young people can more often than not drive a project forward if they felt they were a valued part of the research, especially if their ideas, thoughts and feelings were taken on board throughout the process.

"It is possible to improve the lives of children and families through research" said Professor Coad, "but the stumbling blocks in the past have been getting things passed through ethics committees because of the sensitive nature of the data we have to collect.

"Whenever I am trying to get funding for a new project which needs approval from an ethics committee, I try to take a young person along who has helped me with previous research projects to speak on behalf of young people.

"It is important that the panel hear from more than just the academics as it could make a difference to hear the views of young people that the new research is going to help."

Not long after her appointment to Coventry University, Professor Coad was successful in leading a bid which secured £1.3m from the Department of Health for a range of projects around the complex palliative care for children and young people.

Professor Coad and her team recently launched a ground-breaking E-learning programme for health care professionals working in the field of providing care for children and young people with complex palliative care needs.

This new e-learning programme will not only develop their specialist knowledge but also help them to appreciate how each other's roles combine to offer family centred care.

For more information about Coventry University, please visit their website here: www.coventry.ac.uk