Health Care Professionals' Experiences With Using Information and Communication Technologies in Patient Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in inpatient and outpatient health care settings. Digital tools were used to connect patients, families, and providers amid visitor restrictions, while web-based platforms were used to continue care amid COVID-19 lockdowns. What we have yet to learn is the experiences of health care providers (HCPs) regarding the use of ICT that supported changes to clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to describe the experiences of HCPs in using ICT to support clinical care changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper is reporting on a subset of a larger body of data that examined changes to models of care during the pandemic. METHODS: This study used a qualitative, descriptive study design. In total, 30 HCPs were recruited from 3 hospitals in Canada. One-on-one semistructured interviews were conducted between December 2022 and June 2023. Qualitative data were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach to identify themes across participants. RESULTS: A total of 30 interviews with HCPs revealed 3 themes related to their experiences using ICT to support changes to clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included the use of ICT (1) to support in-person communication with patients, (2) to facilitate connection between provider to patient and patient to family, and (3) to provide continuity of care. CONCLUSIONS: HCP narratives revealed the benefits of digital tools to support in-person communication between patient and provider, the need for thoughtful consideration for the use of ICT at end-of-life care, and the decision-making that is needed when choosing service delivery modality (eg, web based or in person). Moving forward, organizations are encouraged to provide education and training on how to support patient-provider communication, find ways to meet patient and family wishes at end-of-life care, and continue to give autonomy to HCPs in their clinical decision-making regarding service delivery modality.

Evaluating Skill-Mix Models of Care: A Rapid Scoping Review of Measures and Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize the literature on measures and outcomes for skill-mix models of care. BACKGROUND: To address the human health resource crisis, changes to skill mix within models of care are being implemented emphasizing the need to synthesize evaluation methods for skill-mix models in the future. METHODS: A scoping review of the literature using a rigorous search strategy and selection process was completed to identify articles that examined skill-mix models in an effort to identify related concepts. RESULTS: Ten studies examined skill-mix models. Areas of measurement in assessing the impact of skill-mix models included patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, nurse satisfaction, cost, and nurse perceptions of role changes, model effectiveness, and quality of care. Studies examining nurse satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and/or cost generally reported improvements upon skill-mix model implementation. Studies examining patient outcomes related to skill mix were inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS: Factors for consideration upon implementation of a skill-mix change include education of role clarity, the number of unregulated staff who require supervision, and professional practice support.

Understanding the benefits and challenges of outpatient virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Canadian pediatric rehabilitation hospital.

PURPOSE: The evolving virtual health care experience highlights the potential of technology to serve as a way to enhance care. Having virtual options for assessment, consultation and intervention were essential during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, especially for children with disabilities and their families. The purpose of our study was to describe the benefits and challenges of outpatient virtual care during the pandemic within pediatric rehabilitation. METHODS: This qualitative study, part of a larger mixed methods project, involved in-depth interviews with 17 participants (10 parents, 2 youth, 5 clinicians) from a Canadian pediatric rehabilitation hospital. We analyzed the data using a thematic approach. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated three main themes: (1) benefits of virtual care (e.g., continuity of care, convenience, stress reduction and flexibility, and comfort within the home environment and enhanced rapport); (2) challenges related to virtual care (e.g., technical difficulties and lack of technology, environmental distractions and constraints, communication difficulty, and health impacts); and (3) advice for the future of virtual care (i.e., offering choice to families, enhanced communication and addressing health equity issues). CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians and hospital leaders should consider addressing the modifiable barriers in accessing and delivering virtual care to optimize its effectiveness.

Families are invested in access to virtual care appointments and can benefit from clear communication about choices regarding appointment options and supports in how to access and use technology for equitable access to care.Hospitals should aim to provide clinicians with an appropriate workspace (i.e., private, quiet with adequate room to demonstrate what they need to do), equipment and technology to have virtual care appointments.Current understanding of virtual care delivery suggests a tailored approach, with some types of appointments, such as follow-ups or check-ins, more suited to this modality than other more hands-on therapy.

Clinical feasibility, utility, and usability of the Profile of Preschool Communication: A pilot test in community settings.

AIM: . This study aimed to pilot test, assess usability and utility of, and identify barriers to implementation for the Profile of Preschool Communication (PPC) - a new data collection tool designed to support outcome monitoring in preschool speech-language programs and practice-based research. METHODS: . This pilot study was conducted with three sites in the Ontario Preschool Speech and Language (PSL) program. Twenty-three speech-language pathologists used the PPC for all outcome monitoring assessments for 2-3-months and provided feedback about their experience using it in practice. Then, 18 of the 23 speech-language pathologists completed online surveys to rate usability and utility, and report their perceived implementation barriers and facilitators. RESULTS: . Speech-language pathologists reported difficulties completing some sections of the PPC, most notably obtaining data related to maternal education and family history of mental health concerns. Usability and utility were generally rated favorably with some items rated as neutral. Barriers to implementation included the paper format, completion time, requirement to ask personal questions, and the perception by some that data were useful for outcome monitoring but not practice. Facilitators included ease of use, an improvement over the existing tool, and the collection of data to support service planning. CONCLUSIONS: . The PPC shows potential as an outcome monitoring data collection tool in preschool speech-language pathology programs. Findings will be of interest to researchers engaged in practice-based research and those interested in engaging end users to develop clinically meaningful tools.

Intervention Goals for Preschoolers With Language Difficulties and Disorders: A Scoping Review Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Framework.

PURPOSE: The primary aim of this scoping review was to categorize language therapy goals reported in intervention studies for preschoolers (i.e., children from birth to 5;0 [years;months]) with language difficulties and disorders within the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. A secondary aim was to determine whether different therapy goals were reported for two language difficulty/disorder subtypes (i.e., comparing language difficulty/disorder associated with a biomedical condition to those without an associated biomedical condition). METHOD: The scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley (2005) guidelines. Articles were retrieved from speechBITE, with age (under 5 years), intervention area (language), and study design (all but systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines) specified as inclusion criteria. Language goals were extracted and categorized into the ICF components, and the distribution of goals across ICF components was compared for studies involving children with the two language difficulty/disorder subtypes. RESULTS: A total of 287 articles were identified; 140 met inclusion criteria. Of the 293 goals extracted, 48% aligned with the activities component of the ICF framework, followed by participation (26%), environmental factors (20%), body functions and structures (3%), and personal factors (3%). Most participation-focused goals were reported from intervention studies involving preschoolers with a language difficulty/disorder associated with a biomedical condition. CONCLUSIONS: Few participation-focused goals were reported in intervention studies for preschoolers with language difficulty/disorder without an associated condition. Future work is needed to support integrating the ICF framework in goal setting for both research and practice.

Parent Interventions Improve Behavior After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine child behavior change scores from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of parent interventions for pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched to identify studies that examined parent interventions for pediatric TBI. Inclusion criteria included (i) a parent intervention for children with TBI; (ii) an RCT study design; (iii) statistical data for child behavior outcome(s); and (iv) studies that were published in English. RESULTS: Seven studies met inclusion criteria. All interventions reported improved child behavior after pediatric TBI; however, child and parent factors contributed to behavior change scores in some interventions. Factors found to contribute to the level of benefit included age of child, baseline behavior levels, sociodemographics (eg, parent income, parent education), and parent mental health. CONCLUSION: Improved child behavior outcomes resulting from parent interventions for pediatric TBI are well supported by the evidence in the peer-reviewed literature. Clinicians are encouraged to consider child and parent factors as they relate to child behavior outcomes.

Brain and Language Associations in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review.

Examining brain and behaviour associations for language in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may bring us closer to identifying neural profiles that are unique to a subgroup of individuals with ASD identified as language impaired (e.g. ASD LI+). We conducted a scoping review to examine brain regions that are associated with language performance in ASD. Further, we examined methodological differences across studies in how language ability was characterized and what neuroimaging methods were used to explore brain regions. Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria. Brain regions specific to ASD LI+ groups were found, however inconsistencies in brain and language associations were evident across study findings. Participant age, age-appropriate language scores, and neuroimaging methods likely contributed to differences in associations found.

Effects of Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury on Verbal IQ: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) on verbal IQ by severity and over time. METHODS: A systematic review and subsequent meta-analysis of verbal IQ by TBI severity were conducted using a random effects model. Subgroup analysis included two epochs of time (e.g., <12 months postinjury and ≥12 months postinjury). RESULTS: Nineteen articles met inclusion criteria after an extensive literature search in MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Embase, and CINAHL. Meta-analysis revealed negative effects of injury across severities for verbal IQ and at both time epochs except for mild TBI < 12 months postinjury. Statistical heterogeneity (i.e., between-study variability) stemmed from studies with inconsistent classification of mild TBI, small sample sizes, and in studies of mixed TBI severities, although not significant. Risk of bias on estimated effects was generally low (k = 15) except for studies with confounding bias (e.g., lack of group matching by socio-demographics; k = 2) and measurement bias (e.g., outdated measure at time of original study, translated measure; k = 2). CONCLUSIONS: Children with TBI demonstrate long-term impairment in verbal IQ, regardless of severity. Future studies are encouraged to include scores from subtests within verbal IQ (e.g., vocabulary, similarities, comprehension) in addition to functional language measures (e.g., narrative discourse, reading comprehension, verbal reasoning) to elucidate higher-level language difficulties experienced in this population.

Language performance within three months of early childhood traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE: To examine language outcomes in the short-term stage (i.e., within three months) of early childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: A retrospective chart review over a 10-year period (January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2016) was completed at a single-site inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Inclusion criteria were children aged 15 months to five years 11 months with a diagnosis of closed TBI. RESULTS: Twenty-four charts were included in the descriptive analysis of language; there were fewer children with expressive language scores (n = 18) than receptive language scores (n = 24), likely due to word retrieval difficulties as per clinical documentation. Effects of TBI on language performance were more pronounced in receptive than expressive language. For children with scores in both receptive and expressive language areas (n = 18), five children had below average scores. These children were described as having language delays pre-injury (n = 2), lower exposure to English (n = 1), information processing difficulties (n = 1), and difficulties with formulation and organization of language (n = 1). CONCLUSION: This study represents an initial step in understanding expressive and receptive language performance shortly after early childhood TBI. Challenges with assessment as well as directions for future research are discussed.

The Effect of Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury on Verbal Fluency Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Verbal fluency is a neuropsychological measure commonly used to examine cognitive-linguistic performance as reported in pediatric TBI literature. We synthesized the scholarly literature of verbal fluency performance in pediatric TBI and estimated the effects of TBI according to: (i) type of verbal fluency task (phonemic or semantic), (ii) severity of TBI, and (iii) time post-injury. Meta-analysis revealed that childhood TBI negatively impacted phonemic fluency and semantic fluency and that effect sizes were larger for children with more severe TBI. The negative effect of TBI was evident across time post injury within each level of severity. Verbal fluency tasks are efficient indicators of potential underlying impairments in lexical knowledge and executive functioning in children with TBI regardless of severity of injury or time post injury. Future research employing verbal fluency tasks are encouraged to explore if age at injury differentiates semantic versus phonemic fluency outcomes across severity levels.

Cognitive Communication Impairments in Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review.

OBJECTIVE: This scoping review synthesizes the scholarly literature on cognitive communication impairments in traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained during childhood to identify gaps in research, and make recommendations that will further the field of cognitive communication in pediatric TBI. METHODS: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies that examined cognitive communication impairments in children who sustained a TBI between 3 months to 18 years of age. RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies met inclusion criteria with 3 main categories identified in relation to cognitive communication: (1) impairments according to TBI severity, (2) impairments according to age at injury, and (3) trends in recovery according to TBI severity. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this scoping review suggest that (1) TBI severity is not the sole predictor of performance; other factors contribute to cognitive communication outcome and recovery; (2) developing skills at time of injury are most susceptible to impairment; and (3) standard, norm-referenced language assessments are not sensitive in detecting language impairments that are secondary to cognitive impairments found in TBI. Directions for future research and suggestions for clinical practice are proposed.