Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2025
A Modified Sonographic Algorithm for Image Acquisition in Life-Threatening Emergencies in the Critically Ill Newborn
Published on: April 7, 2023
Children with medical complexity in the emergency department: Parent experiences and information needs
Danielle Lysak1, Samina Ali2, Susan Neufeld1
1Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Insights
Parents of children with complex medical needs require better information sharing and coordination when accessing emergency departments. Improving emergency care for these children is crucial.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Healthcare for Children with Complex Medical Needs
- Qualitative Health Research
Background:
- Children with complex medical needs are increasingly utilizing emergency departments.
- These children access emergency care disproportionately more than their peers.
- Understanding parental experiences is vital for improving care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the information needs of parents accessing emergency care for their child with medical complexity.
- To understand the experiences of parents navigating emergency health services for children with complex medical needs.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative description guided the study.
- Purposive sampling was used to recruit parent participants.
- Inductive content analysis was applied to interview data.
Main Results:
- Four key themes emerged: differences in emergency departments for these children, parents as care coordinators, emergency department experiences and resilience, and communication preferences.
- Nine in-depth interviews provided rich insights into parental perspectives.
- Parents highlighted their crucial role in coordinating care.
Conclusions:
- Effective strategies are needed to support health information transfer in emergency departments for children with complex medical needs.
- Parental insights are essential for improving emergency care for this growing population.
- Enhanced communication and care coordination can improve emergency department experiences.
Background:
Children with complex medical needs constitute a growing number of pediatric patients that utilize the emergency department, disproportionately more than children outside of this category. Our objective for this qualitative study was to explore information needs and experiences of parents accessing emergency health care for their child with medical complexity.
Methods:
Qualitative description guided this study. Parent participants were recruited via purposive sampling and individually interviewed within a pediatric specialty clinic at a Canadian pediatric tertiary care center. Inductive content analysis organized interview data from parents.
Results:
Nine, 60-90 min individual interviews were conducted with parents of a child with medical complexity; four content categories emerged: How the emergency department is different for children with medical complexity, parents as key care coordinators, emergency department experience and resilience, and communication and learning preferences.
Conclusion:
These families openly shared their experience with pediatric emergency care. Strategies to support transfer of pertinent health information for children with complex medical needs are needed in the emergency department. Interviews with parents of children with complex medical needs provided key insights to inform and improve the care provided in the emergency department for this growing population of children.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Methods of Documentation VII: EMR
01:17Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...
01:21Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
01:26Methods of Documentation II: POMR
01:15Methods of Documentation VI: Case Management Model
For example, a patient with a chronic...