Engaging the patient and family in the surgical safety process utilizing

Digital health intervention on patient safety for children and parents: A scoping review

AIM

To explore digital health interventions on patient safety for children and their parents.

DESIGN

A scoping review.

METHODS

The PCC 'Participants, Concepts, and Contexts' guided the selection of studies that focused on children under 19 years of age or their parents, patient safety interventions for children, and digital health technology for patient safety interventions. This study was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework's five steps. We reported the review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane were searched for articles published up to November 2022.

RESULTS

A total of 13 articles were included and categorized according to the following criteria to describe the results: intervention characteristics, type of digital technology, and outcome characteristics. Regarding intervention characteristics, we identified two categories, prevention and risk management. Additionally, we identified four types of digital technology, mobile applications, web-based technologies, computer kiosks and electronic health records. Finally, in studies focussing on child safety, parental safety behaviours were used to assess injury risk or detect changes related to prevention.

CONCLUSION

Patient safety interventions provided through appropriate digital technologies should be developed to enhance continuum of care for children from hospitalization to home after discharge.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

Digital health interventions can bolster the role of healthcare providers in patient safety in and out of hospitals, thus improving children's safety and quality of care.

IMPACT

What problem did the study address? Although the various advantages of digital health technology have been demonstrated, the potential role of digital technology in patient safety interventions for children has not been explored. What were the main finding? Preventive patient safety interventions and risk management for children have been developed. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? Digital health interventions on patient safety can improve children's safety and quality of care by promoting non-face-to-face engagement of children and parents after discharge and expanding healthcare providers' roles.

TRIAL AND PROTOCOL REGISTRATION

Registered on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/dkvst).

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Do patient engagement interventions work for all patients? A systematic review and realist synthesis of interventions to enhance patient safety

BACKGROUND

Patients are increasingly being asked for feedback about their healthcare and treatment, including safety, despite little evidence to support this trend. This review identifies the strategies used to engage patients in safety during direct care, explores who is engaged and determines the mechanisms that impact effectiveness.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed of seven databases (CINAHL, Cochrane, Cochrane-Central, Embase, ISI Web of Science, Medline, PsycINFO) that included research published between 2010 and 2020 focused on patient engagement interventions to increase safety during direct care and reported using PRISMA. All research designs were eligible; two reviewers applied criteria independently to determine eligibility and quality. A narrative review and realist synthesis were conducted.

RESULTS

Twenty-six papers reporting on twenty-seven patient engagement strategies were included and classified as consultation (9), involvement (7) and partnership (11). The definitions of 'patient engagement' varied, and we found limited details about participant characteristics or interactions between people utilizing strategies. Collaborative strategy development, a user-friendly design, proactive messaging and agency sponsorship were identified as mechanisms to improve engagement about safety at the point of direct care.

CONCLUSIONS

Agency sponsorship of collaboration between staff and patients is essential in the development and implementation of strategies to keep patients safe during direct care. Insufficient details about participant characteristics and patient-provider interactions limit recommendations for practice change. More needs to be learned about how patients are engaged in discussions about safety, particularly minority groups unable to engage with standard information.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Review progress was reported to the CanEngage team, including the consumer steering group, to inform project priorities (PROSPERO CRD42020196453).