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A Pilot Study of Autism-Specific Care Plans During Hospital Admission
Sarabeth Broder-Fingert1, Amy Shui2, Christine Ferrone3
1Boston Medical Center, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of General Academic Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and sarabeth.broder-fingert@bmc.org.
Insights
Autism-specific care plans (ACP) improved hospital experiences for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parents using ACPs reported better overall care and more staff attention to their child's needs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Patient Experience Improvement
Background:
- Hospital admissions present unique challenges for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- An autism-specific care plan (ACP) was developed to enhance hospital stays for ASD patients.
- The study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the ACP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an autism-specific care plan (ACP) in a hospital setting.
- To compare the hospital experience of children with ASD who used an ACP versus those who did not.
- To identify factors associated with improved patient experience using multivariable regression analysis.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective chart review of 142 patients with ASD admitted between January and December 2013.
- Feasibility of the ACP intervention was determined through chart review.
- Surveys were mailed to families to assess experience with the ACP and compare outcomes between users and non-users, with statistical analysis using multivariable linear regression.
Main Results:
- The ACP demonstrated good tolerability by parents and frequent utilization by hospital staff.
- Parents who utilized the ACP reported significantly better general hospital experiences (B = 1.48, P < .001).
- Parents using the ACP also reported significantly greater staff attention to their child's ASD-specific needs (B = 3.07, P < .001).
Conclusions:
- This pilot study indicates that autism-specific care plans are feasible for implementation in hospitals.
- Care plans show significant promise for enhancing the hospital experience for children with ASD and their families.
- The findings support the broader adoption of ACPs to improve care for this patient population.
Background And Objective:
Hospital admissions can be difficult for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We created an autism-specific care plan (ACP) to help improve the hospital experience for patients with ASD, and we tested feasibility and acceptability and compared the experience of care for children with and without an ACP.
Methods:
We performed a nonrandomized, retrospective chart review of all patients with ASD and a hospital admission from January 2013 to December 2013 (n = 142) to determine feasibility of the intervention. We then mailed surveys to all 142 families to measure experience with the ACP and to compare experience of care in those who did and did not have an ACP. Using multivariable linear regression we assessed the association of experience of care with ACP use while adjusting for covariates.
Results:
The ACP was well tolerated by parents and used frequently by staff. Compared with parents who did not use the ACP, parents who used the ACP reported a better experience relating to their general hospital experience (B = 1.48, P < .001) and staff attention to their child's ASD-specific needs (B = 3.07, P < .001).
Conclusions:
According to this pilot study, care plans are feasible and hold promise to improve the experience of care for children with ASD and their families in the hospital setting.
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