Achieving RoutIne Screening for Emotional health (ARISE) in pediatric subspecialty clinics

Area of Science:

• Pediatric healthcare
• Psychosocial oncology
• Child psychology

Background:

• Children with serious or chronic medical conditions often experience significant psychosocial distress.
• Systematic screening for psychosocial distress is crucial for effective care but often challenging to implement.
• Existing care models may not adequately address the emotional well-being of these vulnerable pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation experience of a psychosocial distress screening system, Achieving RoutIne Screening for Emotional health (ARISE), for children with serious or chronic medical conditions.
• To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) into routine care within pediatric subspecialty clinics.
• To identify and address barriers to the systematic collection and integration of psychosocial data into clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• The ARISE system was developed using a user-centered approach with input from patients, families, and healthcare professionals.
• ARISE integrates PROMs into the care delivery workflow to capture and relay psychosocial distress information to clinicians.
• The system was piloted across four pediatric subspecialty clinics serving diverse patient populations (cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, hemophilia, neurological malignancy).

Main Results:

• Implementation challenges related to acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility were addressed through iterative modifications based on stakeholder feedback.
• The ARISE system was successfully implemented in three of the four targeted subspecialty clinics.
• High patient and family engagement was observed, with 79.8% of eligible children completing PROMs.

Conclusions:

• The ARISE program proved feasible and effective in integrating psychosocial screenings into pediatric subspecialty care.
• Systematic screening enhances the identification of psychosocial distress in children with serious and chronic illnesses.
• The ARISE model offers a scalable approach to improving psychosocial care for pediatric patients facing significant medical challenges.