Parent education programs for children assisted by invasive mechanical ventilation: A scoping review

Caregiver education before hospital discharge for children on home-invasive mechanical ventilation

Children on home invasive mechanical ventilation necessitate specialized equipment, continuous monitoring, and multidisciplinary care. Transitioning these children from hospital to home care is complex, demanding careful planning. Guidelines and observational studies emphasize the importance of a standardized, comprehensive, and staged educational approach for caregiver education in discharge planning, yet program variations persist, lacking standardized checklists. This review aims to offer insights into crucial factors for a successful transition from hospital to home care for children using home-invasive mechanical ventilation while also developing comprehensive caregiver checklists to ensure high-quality care, taking into account families' socioeconomic status.

Arrangement of residence before hospital discharge for children on home-invasive mechanical ventilation

Children on long-term home mechanical ventilation are a growing population due to clinical and technological advances and the benefit for the child's quality of life. Invasive home ventilation is one of the most complex therapies offered in the home setting, requiring adequate home environment and appropriate equipment and supplies before discharge. The transition from hospital to home represents a vulnerable period that can be facilitated with an established transition plan with multidisciplinary team involvement. Readiness for home care is achieved when the patient is stable and has been transitioned from a critical care ventilator to a home mechanical ventilator. In parallel, comprehensive competency-based training regarding the knowledge and skills needed to help families use the equipment confidently and safely. Before discharge, families should be counseled on an adequate home environment to ensure a safe transition. The residence arrangement may include physical space modifications, verifying electrical installation, or moving to another home. Durable medical equipment and supplies must be ordered, and community healthcare support arranged. Parents should receive practical advice on setting up the equipment at home and on preventive measures to minimize complications related to tracheostomy and ventilator dependence, including regular maintenance and replacement of necessary equipment. Given the overall impact of invasive ventilation on home life, a structured home care action package is essential to alleviate the burdens involved.

Transitioning children using home invasive mechanical ventilation from hospital to home: Discharge criteria, disparities, and ethical considerations

Children using home invasive mechanical ventilation (HIMV), a valuable therapeutic option for chronic respiratory failure, constitute a growing population. Transitioning children using HIMV from hospital to home care is a complex process that requires a multidisciplinary approach involving healthcare professionals, caregivers, and community resources. Medical stability, caregiver competence, and home environment suitability are essential factors in determining discharge readiness. Caregiver education and training play a pivotal role in ensuring safe and effective home care. Simulation training and staged education progression are effective strategies for equipping caregivers with necessary skills. Resource limitations, inadequate home nursing support, and disparities in available community resources are common obstacles to successful HIMV discharge. International perspectives shed light on diverse healthcare systems and challenges faced by caregivers worldwide. While standardizing guidelines for HIMV discharge may be complex, collaboration among healthcare providers and the development of evidence-based regional guidelines can improve outcomes for children using HIMV and their caregivers. This review seeks to synthesize literature, provide expert guidance based on experience, and highlight components to safely discharge children using HIMV. It further assesses disparities and divergences within regional and international healthcare systems while addressing relevant ethical considerations.

Monitoring of physiologic features and treatment aspects of children on home invasive mechanical ventilation

Pediatric home invasive mechanical ventilation patients are a small but resource-intensive cohort, requiring close monitoring and multidisciplinary care. Patients are often dependent on their ventilator for life support, with any significant complications such as equipment failure, tracheostomy blockage, or accidental decannulation becoming potentially life-threatening if not identified quickly. This review discusses the indications and variations in practice worldwide, in terms of models of care, including home care provision, choice of equipment, and monitoring. With advances in technology, optimal monitoring strategies for home, continue to be debated: In-built ventilator alarms are often inadequately sensitive for pediatric patients, necessitating additional external monitoring devices to minimize risk. Pulse oximetry has been the preferred monitoring modality at home, though in some special circumstances such as congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, home carbon dioxide monitoring may be important to consider. Children should be under regular follow-up at specialist respiratory centers where clinical evaluation, nocturnal oximetry, and capnography monitoring and/or poly(somno)graphy and analysis of ventilator download data can be performed regularly to monitor progress. Recent exciting advances in technology, particularly in telemonitoring, which have potential to hugely benefit this complex group of patients are also discussed.

Parent perspectives on education to support hospital discharge for children with invasive mechanical ventilation

BACKGROUND

Children with invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) often live at home, but for safety, parents must be prepared to assume primary responsibility for all aspects of their child's medically complex care. Prior studies have described discharge education programs, however often without perspectives of parents with lived experience transitioning home.

PURPOSE

To describe parent perspectives on hospital-based education for discharging home a child with IMV.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A secondary qualitative analysis of 23 parent interviews between February 2019 to January 2022 on topics related to caring for a child with IMV. Each interview was coded independently and discussed to consensus. Data from codes related to parent education and training were analyzed to identify themes and sub-themes.

RESULTS

Parents of 23 children with IMV participated in the primary interviews a month after hospital discharge. Four main themes in the secondary dataset were identified: (1) Training context: The hospital can be a stressful and difficult learning environment; (2) Training characteristics: Parents receive thorough training from interdisciplinary providers; (3) Learner characteristics: Parents are motivated learners who independently seek out knowledge; (4) Post-discharge education: Parents gain confidence in their expertise after navigating an emergency.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents who have transitioned from hospital-to-home describe sufficiently detailed hospital-based education; many felt trained as capably as nurses. However, parents experienced in-hospital training as inflexible and stressful.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Parents of children with IMV are eager learners but parent education is not always family-centered. Reforming the hospital learning environment to match parent needs will improve family experiences and training.