Support Tool for Families of High-Risk Children With Heart Disease During Hospital Admission and After Discharge

Despite advances in the care of children with heart disease, those affected often remain in need of complex care after hospital discharge. Multiple medications, tube feeds, and medical equipment are a few of the care needs parents face upon leaving the hospital. Unsurprisingly, many parents report problems in the transition of care from the hospital to the home. Clinical providers express frustration related to challenges with family education and communication around the time of discharge. Research is required to identify intervention strategies to improve parent/ caregiver confidence with caring for their child after discharge and reduce unintended resource utilization after discharge including clinical deterioration, unplanned 30-day readmissions, emergency department (ED) visits and nonadherence to outpatient appointments.

In Aim 1 of the study, the investigators identified the modifiable barriers, perceived needs, and opportunities for intervention to support parents/ caregivers in meeting the care needs of the high-risk child with heart disease after discharge by conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with parents/ caregivers and healthcare personnel. And based on participants' responses, the investigators developed a support tool to improve parent/ caregiver comfort with caring for the high-risk child and improve post discharge outcomes. The objective of this study is to pilot this support tool in 5 high-risk families in Nemours Cardiac Center and assess the acceptability and feasibility based on their experience.