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Mapping diversity and demographic-based changes to a pediatric population attending a specialist tertiary hospital: a
Suzanne Sheppard-Law1,2, Marilyn Cruickshank1,2, Deborah Debono3
1Nursing Research Unit, Sydney Children's Hospital Network, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Insights
Paediatric inpatient demographics in Sydney are changing, with increased service use by children born in Asia and the Middle East. Healthcare providers must adapt to meet the needs of diverse families.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Demographic Analysis
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Australia's increasing immigrant population enriches its cultural landscape.
- Dynamic population shifts present challenges for the nursing workforce in accommodating migrant families.
- Understanding and addressing the needs of non-English-speaking migrant families is crucial for equitable healthcare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the demographic characteristics of paediatric inpatients.
- To measure annual changes in the composition of the paediatric population.
- To analyze trends in service utilization among diverse paediatric populations.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of de-identified paediatric inpatient medical records.
- Data analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
- Adherence to Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.
Main Results:
- Inpatients born overseas represented 5.7% of paediatric admissions, originating from 155 countries.
- Increased service utilization was observed for children born in Asia (IRR 1.3) and the Middle East (IRR 1.4).
- Families preferring Chinese, Middle Eastern (non-Arabic), and Indian languages showed increased service use.
Conclusions:
- Significant annual shifts in paediatric population composition were identified.
- Regular analysis of inpatient data is essential for responsive healthcare.
- Healthcare services must adapt to address the unique needs of diverse patient populations.
Aims:
This study aimed to describe the demographic characteristics and to measure annual changes in composition of the paediatric population attending a specialist tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia, between 2015 and 2017.
Background:
Australia has experienced steady growth in the number of people born overseas in the last fifty years thereby building a culturally and linguistically rich country. Such dynamic population changes pose a challenge to the nursing workforce, in particular how the needs of migrant families from non-English-speaking countries are accommodated.
Design:
Retrospective review of medical records.
Methods:
De-identified paediatric inpatient data were imported from a hospital database into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 21) database for cleaning and analysis. Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology checklist was completed.
Results:
Paediatric inpatients born in a country other than Australia (8762, 5.7%) emigrated from 155 countries or were "born at Sea" (n = 13, 0.1%) and spoke an array of primary languages (n = 139), other than English. Whilst inpatient health service rates remained constant during the study period, an increased rate of service utilisation was reported for children born in Asia (IRR 1.3, p ≤ 0.001, 95% CI: 1.2-1.4) and in the Middle East (IRR 1.4, p ≤ 0.001, 95% CI: 1.2-1.6). Families who reported that they preferred to speak Chinese Languages, Middle Eastern languages (not Arabic) and languages of India reported increased rates.
Conclusion:
Significant annual changes in composition of the paediatric population were reported. Regular analysis of local inpatient data will inform health care that is responsive to change and addresses the unique needs of diverse families.
Relevance To Clinical Practice:
Diversity poses a potential challenge to the nursing workforce on a daily basis and more broadly. To meet the changing needs of diverse inpatient populations, nurses will need to plan, implement and evaluate cultural competency, linguistic access, workforce diversity and the quality of care to diverse populations.
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