Patient-Reported Experience in the Pediatric Emergency Department: What Matters Most?

INTRODUCTION: Although the Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems is a validated tool for the inpatient experience, it may not address features unique to the pediatric emergency department (PED). There is currently no publicly available validated patient-reported experience survey for the PED, and what matters most in this setting remains unknown. METHODS: Twelve semistructured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of parents of children younger than 14 years at a Canadian PED. Data analysis was performed using inductive thematic analysis to identify aspects of patient-reported experiences that matter most to parents in the PED. RESULTS: Five themes were identified: (1) making waiting a positive experience, (2) taking the time to provide care, (3) forging a positive partnership, (4) speak up for safe care, and (5) making the environment feel safer. Parents highlighted that while waiting for care is not desirable, it is made more acceptable through the communication of wait time estimates and the presence of child activities in the waiting room. Furthermore, although interactions with providers are brief, parents emphasized the importance of creating an environment of partnership with open communication, taking the time to examine their child, and actively demonstrating the provision of safe, quality care. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest that a patient-reported experience survey in the PED may need to embed elements not currently captured in Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, such as waiting room experience, comprehensiveness of health assessments, and observations of safety measures. Future studies can use these findings to develop a patient-reported experience survey for use in the PED.

"We Should Talk"-Moving knowledge into action by learning to engage patients, families, and healthcare staff to communicate for patient safety.

Innovation in patient engagement and empowerment has been identified as a priority area in the Canadian healthcare system. This article describes the development and implementation of the We Should Talk campaign at an academic pediatric hospital. Through the use of a guiding theoretical framework and a multidisciplinary project team, a multimedia campaign was designed to inspire staff, patients and families to effectively communicate to improve patient safety. The We Should Talk campaign provides a case study for how an organization can foster frontline improvement through the engagement of patient, families, and healthcare providers.