Paediatric pandemic planning: children's perspectives and recommendations

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Healthcare
• Public Health
• Child Psychology

Background:

• Children are key stakeholders in pediatric hospitals but are often excluded from healthcare discussions.
• Pandemic planning historically overlooks the unique perspectives and needs of hospitalized children.
• The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreaks in 2003 highlighted gaps in involving children in health crisis management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the experiences and recommendations of children hospitalized during the SARS outbreaks.
• To gather insights from pediatric patients to inform future pandemic preparedness strategies.
• To advocate for increased youth participation in healthcare decision-making and pandemic planning.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with 21 child and adolescent participants hospitalized during SARS.
• Data collected from patients across various medical units including cardiac, critical care, organ transplant, respiratory medicine, and infectious diseases.
• Analysis guided by child development theories and children's rights literature.

Main Results:

• Identified a range of children's experiences during the SARS outbreaks.
• Generated specific recommendations for future pandemic planning from a child's perspective.
• Key recommendations included enhancing psychosocial support, refining infection control measures, improving communication strategies, and optimizing resource management.

Conclusions:

• Children's perspectives are crucial for effective pandemic planning and healthcare policy development.
• There is a need for greater inclusion of youth in healthcare decision-making processes.
• Implementing children's recommendations can improve pediatric care during health crises and future pandemics.