Pediatric Ice Pop Administration to Improve Patient Experience Scores

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Patient Experience Research
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Improving patient experience in pediatric emergency departments (EDs) is crucial for healthcare quality.
• Traditional methods for enhancing patient satisfaction can be complex and costly.
• Simple, low-cost interventions require investigation for their impact on patient-reported outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of offering ice pops to pediatric patients on their experience scores in an ED setting.
• To determine if a simple intervention can positively influence patient-reported satisfaction metrics.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, two-center trial was conducted in academic and community pediatric EDs.
• An intervention group received ice pops on even-numbered days; the control group received standard care on odd-numbered days.
• Patient experience scores, specifically Press Ganey top box scores, were compared between the groups.

Main Results:

• A total of 4,574 pediatric patient visits were included; 152 surveys were returned.
• Ice pop administration days showed significant increases in patient experience scores.
• Scores improved for doctor's concern for comfort (70.2% vs. 57.4%), doctor's courtesy (76.2% vs. 61.8%), and doctor taking time to listen (72.6% vs. 57.4%).

Conclusions:

• A low-cost intervention of offering ice pops significantly enhanced patient experience in key domains within pediatric EDs.
• Ice pop administration is a simple, easily implementable intervention suitable for both academic and community ED settings.
• Further research is recommended to explore the long-term durability of this positive effect on patient experience.