Paediatric family activated rapid response interventions; qualitative systematic review

Shannon Cresham Fox1, Nicola Taylor1, Takawira C Marufu2

  • 1Nottingham Children's Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom.

Insights

Family-activated rapid response systems empower families to alert medical teams to deteriorating paediatric patients, improving patient safety and outcomes. These systems are crucial for family-integrated care and can be adapted globally.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Healthcare
  • Patient Safety
  • Family-Integrated Care

Background:

  • Failure to rescue, a leading cause of patient harm, occurs when patient deterioration is not recognized early.
  • Families often notice changes in a child's condition before healthcare professionals.
  • Family-activated rapid response systems are increasingly recognized to mitigate failure to rescue and promote early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify current family-activated rapid response interventions for hospitalized pediatric patients.
  • To understand the mechanisms through which family activation improves care.

Main Methods:

  • A narrative systematic review of published studies was conducted.
  • Searched seven online databases (AMED, CINHAL, EMBASE, EMCARE, HMIC, JBI, Medline).
  • Assessed study rigor and validity using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool.

Main Results:

  • Six studies met inclusion criteria, identifying five telephone-based family activation interventions.
  • These interventions grant families a process to escalate concerns to hospital emergency teams.
  • Key outcomes include enhanced patient safety, family empowerment, partnership working, effective communication, and improved patient outcomes.
  • A notable limitation was the lack of multi-lingual options in identified interventions.

Conclusions:

  • Family-activated rapid response systems are fundamental to family-integrated care and patient safety.
  • The principles and concepts of these interventions are transferable across global healthcare systems.
Abstract