This paper reviews relevant international and New Zealand literature, policy documents and reports on respite provision for children who are dying and their families. The literature describes why respite care for children is necessary, and evaluates present respite services in accord with recent reports and literature. The service provisions needed for dying children and their families are explored, including suggestions for the improvement of services and future research. The literature reveals that, although respite care for terminally ill children and their families is necessary, service provisions are uncoordinated, not always culturally sensitive and very limited for children and their families. Improvement in paediatric respite services is necessary and research needs to be conducted in this area to facilitate the development of more appropriate respite services for children and their families.
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