Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line?
Introduction The management of fever can be a stressful situation for caregivers of young children. Accessing emergency departments and urgent care centres (ED/UCCs) due to concerns about fever and the potential consequences of child fever is common, despite fever rarely being considered a medical e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Swansea University
2018-09-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Population Data Science |
| Online Access: | https://ijpds.org/article/view/876 |
| _version_ | 1797430957271154688 |
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| author | Sofiya Manji Charlene Garner Delores Steinlicht Sarah Edwards Sheila McDonald |
| author_facet | Sofiya Manji Charlene Garner Delores Steinlicht Sarah Edwards Sheila McDonald |
| author_sort | Sofiya Manji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction
The management of fever can be a stressful situation for caregivers of young children. Accessing emergency departments and urgent care centres (ED/UCCs) due to concerns about fever and the potential consequences of child fever is common, despite fever rarely being considered a medical emergency.
Objectives and Approach
Determine the non-compliance rate with public health advice for self-care at home for young children (3-35 months) with a fever. Non-compliance was defined based on the presence of a record of healthcare use within 72 hours following a call to a nurse telephone triage line, Health Link (HL), and receiving a self-care recommendation. Callers between October 2015-March 2016 were identified and linked with four databases: registry files, National Ambulatory Care Reporting System; Inpatient-Discharge Abstract Database and Physician Claims (N = 879). Overall non-compliance rate and descriptive analysis by child age, caregiver age, geography, and call time were completed.
Results
The overall non-compliance rate with HL advice was 35.6%. Among callers, 17.5% visited an ED/UCC, 1.1% had an inpatient hospital admission, and 21.3% visited a physician’s office. Among the patients that utilized health care services after the HL call, 13.6% only visited ED/UCC, 18% only visited a physician’s office, and 4% utilized more than one type of health care service. Callers in rural and rural remote areas had lower odds of visiting a physician’s office compared to the urban areas (p-value <0.01). No significant differences were found by child age, caregiver age or time of call.
Conclusion/Implications
Findings of this study suggest that approximately one-third of callers are not following the telephone triage advice, potentially leading to unnecessary increased burden on the healthcare system. Further study is warranted to examine reasons for non-compliance. Strategies to increase compliance in caregivers should be explored. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:35:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-94eafc15c7ec4437a199a3587100bf3c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2399-4908 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:35:58Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | Swansea University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Population Data Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-94eafc15c7ec4437a199a3587100bf3c2023-12-02T02:21:12ZengSwansea UniversityInternational Journal of Population Data Science2399-49082018-09-013410.23889/ijpds.v3i4.876876Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line?Sofiya Manji0Charlene Garner1Delores Steinlicht2Sarah Edwards3Sheila McDonald4Alberta Health ServicesAlberta Health ServicesAlberta Health ServicesAlberta Health ServicesAlberta Health ServicesIntroduction The management of fever can be a stressful situation for caregivers of young children. Accessing emergency departments and urgent care centres (ED/UCCs) due to concerns about fever and the potential consequences of child fever is common, despite fever rarely being considered a medical emergency. Objectives and Approach Determine the non-compliance rate with public health advice for self-care at home for young children (3-35 months) with a fever. Non-compliance was defined based on the presence of a record of healthcare use within 72 hours following a call to a nurse telephone triage line, Health Link (HL), and receiving a self-care recommendation. Callers between October 2015-March 2016 were identified and linked with four databases: registry files, National Ambulatory Care Reporting System; Inpatient-Discharge Abstract Database and Physician Claims (N = 879). Overall non-compliance rate and descriptive analysis by child age, caregiver age, geography, and call time were completed. Results The overall non-compliance rate with HL advice was 35.6%. Among callers, 17.5% visited an ED/UCC, 1.1% had an inpatient hospital admission, and 21.3% visited a physician’s office. Among the patients that utilized health care services after the HL call, 13.6% only visited ED/UCC, 18% only visited a physician’s office, and 4% utilized more than one type of health care service. Callers in rural and rural remote areas had lower odds of visiting a physician’s office compared to the urban areas (p-value <0.01). No significant differences were found by child age, caregiver age or time of call. Conclusion/Implications Findings of this study suggest that approximately one-third of callers are not following the telephone triage advice, potentially leading to unnecessary increased burden on the healthcare system. Further study is warranted to examine reasons for non-compliance. Strategies to increase compliance in caregivers should be explored.https://ijpds.org/article/view/876 |
| spellingShingle | Sofiya Manji Charlene Garner Delores Steinlicht Sarah Edwards Sheila McDonald Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line? International Journal of Population Data Science |
| title | Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line? |
| title_full | Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line? |
| title_fullStr | Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line? |
| title_short | Do callers of young children with fever follow the self-care recommendations given by a nursing triage line? |
| title_sort | do callers of young children with fever follow the self care recommendations given by a nursing triage line |
| url | https://ijpds.org/article/view/876 |
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