Sim-Based Home Tracheostomy Care: A Mixed Methods Study on Outcomes and Parental Preparedness

Area of Science:

• Pediatric healthcare
• Medical education
• Patient safety

Background:

• Caregiver education is crucial for managing children with new tracheostomies.
• Simulation-Based Discharge Program (SDP) aims to improve caregiver preparedness and clinical outcomes.
• Long-term caregiver satisfaction and clinical impact require further assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term caregiver-reported satisfaction with the Simulation-Based Discharge Education Program (SDP).
• To compare clinical outcomes, specifically emergency department visits for tracheostomy-related issues, between children whose caregivers completed SDP and a control group.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach was used, including qualitative interviews with caregivers and a quantitative retrospective case-control study.
• Caregiver feedback from 18 interviews was analyzed thematically.
• Clinical outcomes of 27 children with new tracheostomies whose caregivers completed SDP were compared to 27 matched controls.

Main Results:

• Caregivers reported sustained positive experiences with SDP, even up to 4 years post-training.
• No significant difference was found in emergency department visits for tracheostomy-related complications within 1 year of discharge between the SDP group and the control group (2 visits vs. 1 visit).

Conclusions:

• SDP leads to high long-term caregiver satisfaction.
• Current data does not show a significant reduction in emergency department visits for tracheostomy-related complications through SDP.
• More effective methods are needed to analyze clinical outcomes and validate the impact of simulation-based programs.