Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Division of Emergency Medicine, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada.
CJEM. 2023 Jun;25(6):529-533. doi: 10.1007/s43678-023-00505-2. Epub 2023 Apr 23.
This is the first study to take an in-depth qualitative approach to identify motivating factors for caregivers who chose the paediatric emergency virtual care option in Canada during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The role that virtual care may play moving forward is also considered.
Between May 2020 and May 2021, 773 respondents attending the virtual clinic completed a follow-up survey with open-ended questions. For qualitative content analysis, comments were coded and analysed until thematic saturation was reached. Sub-codes were subsumed into major coding categories to identify themes.
Three major themes, including safety, reassurance and convenience, and an overarching theme of satisfaction emerged from this analysis. Paediatric virtual clinic use was motivated in part by a desire to avoid the hospital environment. In-person Emergency Department visits were reported to be challenging and stressful, particularly due to perceived infection risk. Respondents appreciated that the clinic provided reassurance by assisting in navigating the healthcare system during a time of uncertainty and felt the virtual option allowed them to use healthcare resources responsibly. The convenience and ease of access to virtual care allowed for improved family-centred care in vulnerable populations. The overarching theme of satisfaction was emphasized by numerous comments for this service to be offered post-pandemic.
Our study indicates that virtual care was an attractive option for caregivers due to the safety, reassurance, and convenience provided. The strong patient desire for continued availability post-pandemic will be important considerations in this rapidly developing area of care.
这是第一项采用深入定性方法来确定在 SARS-CoV-2 大流行期间选择加拿大儿科急诊虚拟护理选项的护理人员的激励因素的研究。还考虑了虚拟护理在未来可能发挥的作用。
在 2020 年 5 月至 2021 年 5 月期间，773 名参加虚拟诊所的受访者完成了一项带有开放式问题的随访调查。为了进行定性内容分析，对评论进行了编码和分析，直到达到主题饱和。次代码被归入主要编码类别以确定主题。
从这项分析中得出了三个主要主题，包括安全性、安心和便利性，以及一个总体满意度主题。儿科虚拟诊所的使用部分是出于避免医院环境的愿望。急诊室的现场就诊被报道具有挑战性和压力，特别是由于感知到的感染风险。受访者赞赏诊所通过协助在不确定时期的医疗保健系统导航提供了安心，并认为虚拟选择使他们能够负责任地使用医疗保健资源。虚拟护理的便利性和易于访问性允许在弱势群体中提供更好的以家庭为中心的护理。对这项服务在大流行后提供的满意度这一总体主题被许多评论强调。
我们的研究表明，虚拟护理对护理人员来说是一个有吸引力的选择，因为它提供了安全性、安心和便利性。患者强烈希望在大流行后继续提供这种服务，这将是这一快速发展的护理领域的重要考虑因素。
