Abstract
Objectives
Pediatric emergencies pose a challenge to primary care practices due to irregular
frequency and complexity. Simulation-based assessment can improve skills and comfort
in emergencies. Our aim was improving pediatric office emergency preparedness, as
measured by adherence to the existing American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement,
and quality of emergency care in a simulated setting, as measured by performance checklists.
Methods
This was a single center study nested in a multicenter, prospective study measuring
emergency preparedness and quality of care in 16 pediatric primary care practices
and consisted of 3 phases: baseline assessment, intervention, and follow-up assessment.
Baseline emergency preparedness was measured by checklist based on AAP guidelines,
and quality of care was assessed using in-situ simulation. A report-out was provided
along with resources addressing potential areas for improvement after baseline assessment.
A repeat preparedness and simulation assessment was performed after a 6 to 10 month
intervention period to measure improvement from baseline.
Results
Sixteen offices were recruited with 13 completing baseline and follow-up preparedness
assessment. Eight of these sites also completed baseline and follow-up simulation
assessment. Median baseline preparedness score was 70% and follow-up was 75.9%. Median
baseline simulation performance scores were 37.4% and 35.5% for respiratory distress
and seizure scenarios, respectively. Follow-up simulation assessment scores were 73%
and 76.9% respectively (P = .001).
Conclusions
Our collaborative was able to successfully improve the quality of care in a simulated
setting in a group of pediatric primary care offices over 6 to 10 months. Future work
will focus on expansion and improving emergency preparedness.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: March 30, 2022
Accepted:
March 26,
2022
Received:
October 6,
2021
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofFootnotes
Conflict of Interest: Mr. Whitfill is a board observer of a medical device company, 410 Medical Inc. (Durham, NC) which commercializes a device for fluid resuscitation. The other authors have no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 by Academic Pediatric Association
