Albutt, A, Roland, D, Lawton, R et al. (2 more authors) (2022) Capturing Parents’ Perspectives of Child Wellness to Support Identification of Acutely Unwell Children in the Emergency Department. Journal of Patient Safety, 18 (5). pp. 410-414. ISSN 1549-8417
Abstract
Objective
Early signs of serious illness can be difficult to recognize in children and a delayed response can result in poor outcomes. Drawing on the unique knowledge of parents and carers may improve identification of the deteriorating child. However, there is a lack of evidence exploring parental perspectives as part of track and trigger systems. This study examines the utility of capturing parent-reported child wellness, using the Patient Wellness Questionnaire for Pediatrics, to support identification of acutely unwell children presenting to the Emergency Department.
Methods
Parent-reported child wellness was recorded alongside the Pediatric Observation Priority Score (POPS), a multidimensional scoring system akin to a Pediatric Early Warning Score, used as part of routine care. Multiple linear regression assessed the independent effects of 3 variables (parent-reported child wellness, nurse concern, and child age) on POPS and hospital admission.
Results
Data were collected for 407 children. All 3 variables explained a statistically significant proportion of variance in POPS (F(3, 403) = 7.525, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.053), with parent-reported child wellness (B = 0.223, SE = 0.054, β = 0.202, P < 0.001) having the strongest effect. Approximately 10% of the children with no physiological derangement were rated as “very poorly” by their parents.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that parents have insight in to the wellness of their children that is reflected in the physiological assessment. Some parents’ perceptions about their child’s wellness were not consistent with the score captured in the same assessment. More work is needed to understand how to use and address parental perspectives and concerns to support clinical decision making and the management of acute illness.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
Keywords: | pediatric emergency department, patient deterioration, patient and family involvement |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Healthcare (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NIHR National Inst Health Research M24387 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Sep 2022 12:17 |
Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2022 12:17 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins |
Identification Number: | 10.1097/pts.0000000000000949 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:191026 |