Care strategies for children with tracheostomy at school: a scoping review.
Fernanda Borges Pessanha, Jéssica Renata Bastos Depianti, Thaís Guilherme Pereira Pinheiro Pimentel and 1 others
PMID 41259790WHAT IT FOUND
Children with tracheostomies can attend mainstream schools if the setting provides trained staff, emergency plans, and adapted logistics.
Three care models rely on close coordination between families, schools, and healthcare services to ensure safety.
Key findings
01Mainstream school attendance for children with tracheostomies is feasible when the institution is equipped to deliver requisite care, including suctioning and cannula clearance.
02Three distinct care models support enrollment and retention: a partnership between school and healthcare service, a school health nursing service-based model, and a family-based model.
03Training school staff in CPR, first aid, and airway management is essential for safety, with most training topics covering first aid and suctioning.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Most included studies were from high-income countries (USA, UK, Japan), limiting generalizability to low-income settings. No studies originated from Brazil, despite the review being conducted by Brazilian authors. The review includes a mix of study designs, including case reports and editorials, which provide lower-level evidence. Data extraction was limited to strategies for enrollment and retention, potentially missing broader outcomes.
Declared interests
The study was supported by CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – Brazil) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development). No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this review as evidence that these models have been proven to improve clinical outcomes like reduced hospitalizations or improved quality of life. This is a scoping review mapping existing strategies and evidence gaps, not a synthesis of effectiveness data.