A Multi-Site Hybrid Type I Effectiveness-Implementation Randomized Trial of an Emergency Care Action Plan for Infants With Medical Complexity

A Multi-Site Hybrid Type I Effectiveness-Implementation Randomized Trial of an Emergency Care Action Plan for Infants With Medical Complexity

Infants with medical complexity (IMC) are a challenging population with more emergency department visits, inpatient stays, and higher healthcare costs than other children. IMC also experience lower quality emergency health care. The PI and team propose to adapt and put into place an emergency care action plan (ECAP) for IMC across four US hospitals, working directly with medical providers and families in each setting. After the tool is made available to providers and families, the PI and team will measure if the ECAP tool helps decrease the number of hospitalizations (primary research outcome) for IMC, as well as if the ECAP is feasible, acceptable, and useable for those using the ECAP over a one-year period.

The project goal is to optimize and implement an emergency care action plan (ECAP) developed previously by the PI and team (through an NIH K23 award) to improve emergency care for infants with medical complexity, a particularly challenging subset of CMC with high utilization and unique challenges in the acute care setting. Dr. Pulcini and team will conduct a hybrid type I effectiveness-implementation randomized trial of the ECAP at four sites (Children's Hospital Colorado, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of Vermont), measuring both health care outcomes/effectiveness (primary endpoint: number of hospitalizations) and implementation (endpoints include acceptability, feasibility, and useability). Dr. Pulcini and team will also measure key secondary health service measures (ex. ED visits, caregiver stress and self-efficacy) and monitor facilitators and barriers to implementation throughout the trial at each site.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 0 to 6 months
• Admitted to the University of Vermont Medical Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or Colorado Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU),
• Meets or is expected to meet Children with Medical Complexity status as determined by the treating NICU clinician and defined as "children with multiple significant chronic health problems including multiple organ systems, which result in functional limitations, high health care needs or utilization, and often require need for, or use of, medical technology."
• Has three or more documented complex chronic conditions (CCCs)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Does not have a caregiver participant who agrees to their participation in the study to complete follow-up surveys
• Does not intend to use the hospital or affiliated sites of which they were recruited from for care during the one-year trial period