Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37938869›Full record

ArticleJMIR pediatrics and parenting2023

An After-Hours Virtual Care Service for Children With Medical Complexity and New Medical Technology: Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.

Katherine Babayan, Krista Keilty, Jessica Esufali, Francisco J Grajales Iii, Connected Care Live for Family Caregivers Advisory Group

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR pediatrics and parenting, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Clinician insights into pediatric temporary feeding tube management: Unseen barriers, unclear roles revealed from a prospective mixed methods study.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Katherine Babayan *Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0592-8353
Krista Keilty *Connected Care Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-8610-7698
Jessica Esufali *Connected Care Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5726-2234
Francisco J Grajales Iii *Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-2942-4889
Connected Care Live for Family Caregivers Advisory Group *see Acknowledgments, .
University of Toronto · CAHospital for Sick Children · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFamily caregivers (FCs) of children with medical complexity require specialized support to promote the safe management of new medical technologies (eg, gastrostomy tubes) during hospital-to-home transitions. With limited after-hours services available to families in home and community care, medical device complications that arise often lead to increased FC stress and unplanned emergency department (ED) visits. To improve FC experiences, enable safer patient discharge, and reduce after-hours ED visits, this study explores the feasibility of piloting a 24/7 virtual care service (Connected Care Live) with families to provide real-time support by clinicians expert in the use of pediatric home care technologies.

objectiveThis study aims to establish the economic, operational, and technical feasibility of piloting the expansion of an existing nurse-led after-hours virtual care service offered to home and community care providers to FCs of children with newly inserted medical devices after hospital discharge at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

methodsThis exploratory study, conducted from October 2020 to August 2021, used mixed data sources to inform service expansion feasibility. Semistructured interviews were conducted with FCs, nurses, and hospital leadership to assess the risks, benefits, and technical and operational requirements for sustainable and cost-effective future service operations. Time and travel savings were estimated using ED visit data in SickKids' electronic medical records (Epic) with a chief complaint of "medical device problems," after-hours medical device inquiries from clinician emails and voicemails, and existing service operational data.

resultsA total of 30 stakeholders were interviewed and voiced the need for the proposed service. Safer and more timely management of medical device complications, improved caregiver and provider experiences, and strengthened partnerships were identified as expected benefits, while service demand, nursing practice, and privacy and security were identified as potential risks. A total of 47 inquiries were recorded over 2 weeks from March 26, 2021, to April 8, 2021, with 51% (24/47) assessed as manageable via service expansion. This study forecasted annual time and travel savings of 558 hours for SickKids and 904 hours and 22,740 km for families. Minimal technical and operational requirements were needed to support service expansion by leveraging an existing platform and clinical staff. Of the 212 ED visits related to "medical device problems" over 6 months from September 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, enteral feeding tubes accounted for nearly two-thirds (n=137, 64.6%), with 41.6% (57/137) assessed as virtually manageable.

conclusionsOur findings indicate that it is feasible to pilot the expansion of Connected Care Live to FCs of children with newly inserted enteral feeding tubes. This nurse-led virtual caregiver service is a promising tool to promote safe hospital-to-home transitions, improve FC experiences, and reduce after-hours ED visits.

Indexed as

children with medical complexityemergency department visitsenteral feeding tubesfamily caregiversfeasibilityhome and community carehospital-to-home transitionmedical devicesmixed methodstechnology dependencevirtual care

Identifiers

PMID37938869
PMCPMC10666005
OpenAlexW4323239067

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.