Exploration of the Evidence on Discharge From Hospital to Home for Children With Medical Complexity and Their Parents: A Review of the Literature.
Lyndsay Mackay, Tammie Dewan, Jaanvi Lal and 2 others
PMID 39843972WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of medically complex children described discharge home as overwhelming and stressful.
They needed early, phased preparation, hands-on practice, clear communication, care coordination, and emotional support before leaving hospital.
Key findings
01Parents needed to be adequately prepared before discharge so they could confidently, independently and safely take on complex care at home.
02Even after hospital preparation, parents still described uncertainty and discomfort when taking their child home.
03Parents valued discharge preparation that began on admission and included time to practise care in hospital before going home.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The search was not specific to discharge, so relevant discharge studies may be missing. The included studies were not quality appraised, so the strength of each study's evidence is not known. Five of the nine interventions described were specific to children with tracheostomies, so they may not apply to all children with medical complexity. The review combined qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods and review papers, so the findings are a map of experiences and reports rather than a test of one treatment.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The named funders were the O'Brien Institute for Public Health and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the discharge interventions listed in this review as proven to improve care. The review did not appraise study quality, and five of the nine interventions were specific to children with tracheostomies.