Hospital to Home Transitions for Children With Medical Complexity: A Scoping Review of Healthcare Professionals Experiences.
Heleen N Haspels, Hennie Knoester, Faridi S Jamaludin and 2 others
PMID 40562369WHAT IT FOUND
Healthcare professionals managing hospital-to-home transitions for medically complex children report lacking specific training, clear role definitions, and reliable community support.
They describe heavy emotional burdens and frustration with fragmented communication, noting that when coordination fails, families become default case managers.
Key findings
01Professionals report limited knowledge of home care realities and existing support initiatives, hindering their ability to provide tailored discharge support.
02Unclear delineation of roles and ultimate responsibility among healthcare providers leads to frustration and inefficient transfer of medical information during transitions.
03When care coordination support is lacking, families are forced to become case managers by default, identifying needs and investigating options themselves.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Most included studies were conducted in high-income countries (US, UK, Canada, Europe), limiting generalizability to low- and middle-income settings. The review included a high proportion of qualitative studies, which provides rich detail on experiences but does not measure clinical outcomes or intervention effectiveness. Many studies lacked detailed contextual information about local healthcare systems, making it difficult to attribute specific barriers to particular system designs. The synthesis focused on healthcare professional perspectives, potentially overlooking the direct impact of these barriers on patient outcomes or parental experiences, which were excluded from the primary analysis.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest or funding sources were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these themes as evidence that specific interventions like care coordination programs or telehealth are effective. This review maps professional experiences and perceived barriers, not the outcomes of any treatment or system change.