Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providers
BackgroundThe prevalence of children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) is rising. It is characteristic for these children to require 24/7 care. In emergencies, families must decide to call the emergency medical service (EMS) or a palliative care team (PCT)—if available. For EMS teams, an emergenc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Pediatrics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2023.1272706/full |
| _version_ | 1827805082300710912 |
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| author | Holger Hauch Holger Hauch Naual El Mohaui Michael Sander Georg Rellensmann Daniel Berthold Peter Kriwy Boris Zernikow Boris Zernikow Julia Wager Julia Wager Emmanuel Schneck |
| author_facet | Holger Hauch Holger Hauch Naual El Mohaui Michael Sander Georg Rellensmann Daniel Berthold Peter Kriwy Boris Zernikow Boris Zernikow Julia Wager Julia Wager Emmanuel Schneck |
| author_sort | Holger Hauch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThe prevalence of children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) is rising. It is characteristic for these children to require 24/7 care. In emergencies, families must decide to call the emergency medical service (EMS) or a palliative care team (PCT)—if available. For EMS teams, an emergency in a child with an LLC is a rare event. Therefore, EMS providers asked for a training unit (TU) to improve their knowledge and skills in pediatric palliative care.Aim of the studyThe questions were as follows: whether a TU is feasible, whether its integration into the EMS training program was accepted, and whether an improvement of knowledge can be achieved.MethodsWe designed and implemented a brief TU based on findings of a previous study that included 1,005 EMS providers. The topics covered were: (1) basics in palliative home care, (2) theoretical aspects, and (3) practical aspects. After participating in the TU, the participants were given a questionnaire to re-evaluate their learning gains and self-confidence in dealing with emergencies in pediatric patients with LLC.Results782 (77.8%) of 1,005 participants of the previous study responded to the questionnaire. The average age was 34.9 years (±10.7 years SD), and 75.3% were male. The average work experience was 11.4 years (±9.5 years SD), and 15.2% were medical doctors. We found an increase in theoretical knowledge and enhanced self-confidence in dealing with emergencies in patients with LLC (confidence: before training: 3.3 ± 2.0 SD; after training: 5.7 ± 2.1 SD; min.: 1; max.: 10; p < 0.001). The participants changed their approaches to a fictitious case report from more invasive to less invasive treatment. Most participants wanted to communicate directly with PCTs and demanded a standard operating procedure (SOP) for treating patients with LLC. We discussed a proposal for an SOP with the participants.ConclusionEMS providers want to be prepared for emergencies in children with LLCs. A brief TU can improve their knowledge and confidence to handle these situations adequately. This TU is the first step to improve collaboration between PCTs and EMS teams. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:20:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0b8bf7b5641440d58b9d5309b9381682 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:20:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Pediatrics |
| spelling | doaj.art-0b8bf7b5641440d58b9d5309b93816822023-09-28T05:56:03ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pediatrics2296-23602023-09-011110.3389/fped.2023.12727061272706Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providersHolger Hauch0Holger Hauch1Naual El Mohaui2Michael Sander3Georg Rellensmann4Daniel Berthold5Peter Kriwy6Boris Zernikow7Boris Zernikow8Julia Wager9Julia Wager10Emmanuel Schneck11Department of Children’s Pain Therapy and Pediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, GermanyPalliative Care Team for Children, University Children’s Hospital, Giessen, Hesse, GermanyPalliative Care Team for Children, University Children’s Hospital, Giessen, Hesse, GermanyDepartment of Anesthesiology, Operative Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy, University Hospital, Giessen, Hesse, GermanyDepartment of Children’s Pain Therapy and Pediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, GermanyDepartment for Medical Oncology and Palliative Care, University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg, Giessen Site, GermanyInstitute for Sociology, Technical University of Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Saxony, GermanyDepartment of Children’s Pain Therapy and Pediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, GermanyPedScience Research Institute, Datteln, GermanyDepartment of Children’s Pain Therapy and Pediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, GermanyPedScience Research Institute, Datteln, GermanyDepartment of Anesthesiology, Operative Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy, University Hospital, Giessen, Hesse, GermanyBackgroundThe prevalence of children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) is rising. It is characteristic for these children to require 24/7 care. In emergencies, families must decide to call the emergency medical service (EMS) or a palliative care team (PCT)—if available. For EMS teams, an emergency in a child with an LLC is a rare event. Therefore, EMS providers asked for a training unit (TU) to improve their knowledge and skills in pediatric palliative care.Aim of the studyThe questions were as follows: whether a TU is feasible, whether its integration into the EMS training program was accepted, and whether an improvement of knowledge can be achieved.MethodsWe designed and implemented a brief TU based on findings of a previous study that included 1,005 EMS providers. The topics covered were: (1) basics in palliative home care, (2) theoretical aspects, and (3) practical aspects. After participating in the TU, the participants were given a questionnaire to re-evaluate their learning gains and self-confidence in dealing with emergencies in pediatric patients with LLC.Results782 (77.8%) of 1,005 participants of the previous study responded to the questionnaire. The average age was 34.9 years (±10.7 years SD), and 75.3% were male. The average work experience was 11.4 years (±9.5 years SD), and 15.2% were medical doctors. We found an increase in theoretical knowledge and enhanced self-confidence in dealing with emergencies in patients with LLC (confidence: before training: 3.3 ± 2.0 SD; after training: 5.7 ± 2.1 SD; min.: 1; max.: 10; p < 0.001). The participants changed their approaches to a fictitious case report from more invasive to less invasive treatment. Most participants wanted to communicate directly with PCTs and demanded a standard operating procedure (SOP) for treating patients with LLC. We discussed a proposal for an SOP with the participants.ConclusionEMS providers want to be prepared for emergencies in children with LLCs. A brief TU can improve their knowledge and confidence to handle these situations adequately. This TU is the first step to improve collaboration between PCTs and EMS teams.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2023.1272706/fullemergency medical servicepalliative home carepediatric emergencieseducationdonot-resuscitate order |
| spellingShingle | Holger Hauch Holger Hauch Naual El Mohaui Michael Sander Georg Rellensmann Daniel Berthold Peter Kriwy Boris Zernikow Boris Zernikow Julia Wager Julia Wager Emmanuel Schneck Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providers Frontiers in Pediatrics emergency medical service palliative home care pediatric emergencies education donot-resuscitate order |
| title | Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providers |
| title_full | Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providers |
| title_fullStr | Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providers |
| title_short | Implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for EMS providers |
| title_sort | implementation and evaluation of a palliative care training unit for ems providers |
| topic | emergency medical service palliative home care pediatric emergencies education donot-resuscitate order |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2023.1272706/full |
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