Impact of PEWS on Perceived Quality of Care During Deterioration in Children With Cancer Hospitalized in Different Resource-Settings

BackgroundChildren with cancer are at high risk for clinical deterioration and subsequent mortality. Pediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS) have proven to reduce the frequency of clinical deterioration in hospitalized patients. This qualitative study evaluates provider perspectives on the impact of PEWS on quality of care during deterioration events in a high-resource and a resource-limited setting.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 83 healthcare staff (nurses, pediatricians, oncology fellows, and intensivists) involved in recent deterioration events at two pediatric oncology hospitals of different resource levels: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH; n = 42) and Unidad Nacional de Oncología Pediátrica (UNOP; n = 41). Interviews were conducted in the participant’s native language (English or Spanish), translated into English, and transcribed. Transcripts were coded and analyzed inductively.ResultsProviders discussed both positive and negative perspectives of clinical deterioration events. Content analysis revealed “teamwork,” “experience with deterioration,” “early awareness,” and “effective communication” as themes associated with positive perception of events, which contributed to patient safety. Negative themes included “lack of communication,” “inexperience with deterioration,” “challenges with technology”, “limited material resources,” “false positive score,” and “objective tool.” Participants representing all disciplines across both institutions shared similar positive opinions. Negative opinions, however, differed between the two institutions, with providers at UNOP highlighting limited resources while those at SJCRH expressing concerns about technology misuse.ConclusionProviders that care for children with cancer find PEWS valuable to improve the quality of hospital care, regardless of hospital resource-level. Identified challenges, including inadequate critical care resources and challenges with technology, differ by hospital resource-level. These findings build on growing data demonstrating the positive impact of PEWS on quality of care and encourage wide dissemination of PEWS in clinical practice

Qualitative Study of Pediatric Early Warning Systems\u27 Impact on Interdisciplinary Communication in Two Pediatric Oncology Hospitals With Varying Resources

PURPOSE: Hospitalized pediatric oncology patients are at high risk of deterioration and require frequent interdisciplinary communication to deliver high-quality care. Pediatric early warning systems (PEWS) are used by hospitals to reduce deterioration, but it is unknown how these systems affect communication about patient care in high- and limited-resource pediatric oncology settings. METHODS: This qualitative study included semistructured interviews describing PEWS and subsequent team communication at 2 pediatric cancer centers, 1 in the United States and 1 in Guatemala. Participants included nurses, and frontline and intensive care providers who experienced recent deterioration events. Transcripts were coded and analyzed inductively using MAXQDA software. RESULTS: The study included 41 providers in Guatemala and 42 providers in the United States (33 nurses, 30 ward providers, and 20 pediatric intensive care providers). Major themes identified include hierarchy, empowerment, quality and method of communication, and trigger. All providers described underlying medical hierarchies affecting the quality of communication regarding patient deterioration events and identified PEWS as empowering. Participants from the United States described the algorithmic approach to care and technology associated with PEWS contributing to impaired clinical judgement and a lack of communication. In both settings, PEWS sparked interdisciplinary communication and inspired action. CONCLUSION: PEWS enhance interdisciplinary communication in high- and limited-resource study settings by empowering bedside providers. Traditional hierarchies contributed to negative communication and, in well-resourced settings, technology and automation resulted in lack of communication. Understanding contextual elements is integral to optimizing PEWS and improving pediatric oncology outcomes in hospitals of all resource levels