Telemedicine Quality Improvement during the Corona Virus 2019 Pandemic Increases Pediatric Weight Management Access.

Background: The corona virus 2019 pandemic disrupted care for pediatric patients with chronic conditions, including those with childhood obesity. Lockdowns forced providers to create new ways of caring for this population. Telemedicine was a promising but previously unavailable solution. This quality improvement report details how the Healthy and Fit Children's Clinic transitioned and improved care via telemedicine. Methods: Between March 2020 and April 2021, the quality improvement project team incorporated the Model for Improvement to transition the clinic to telemedicine. The team tracked Healthy and Fit Children's Clinic appointments, no-shows, billing and reimbursement data, and noted unintended consequences or unanticipated barriers. Patients and their families were given a satisfaction survey at the end of each telemedicine encounter. Results: Compared with pre-telemedicine implementation, there was a 120% increase in completed patient clinic visits per week and a sustained positive shift above the established baseline. Telemedicine no-show rates achieved <10%, with an average sustained rate of <20%, compared with unchanged in-person no-show rates of >50% pre- and post-telemedicine implementation. There was a 74% increase in monthly billing and a sustained positive shift above the pre-telemedicine baseline. On average, patients rated all six satisfaction questions ≥92 on the 100-point scale (compared with 83 pre-telemedicine). Conclusions: This transition to telemedicine was successful and could be translatable to other clinic sites. Patients attended their clinic visits more consistently and were highly satisfied with their care. In a population where continuity of care is paramount, telemedicine shows promise as a tool to treat childhood obesity.

High Prevalence of Elevated Alanine Aminotransferase in American Indian Children Seen in a Pediatric Weight Management Clinic.

INTRODUCTION: Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) can indicate risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. However, there is little data about the prevalence of elevated ALT in American Indian (AI) children. METHODS: Baseline data from children attending the pediatric weight management clinic were used to describe the prevalence of elevated ALT, stratified by race and ethnicity. RESULTS: The prevalence of elevated ALT was higher among children who were male, were older, had higher body mass index Z scores, and were non-Hispanic and AI. DISCUSSION: In this clinic, AI children with overweight and obesity had a disproportionately high prevalence of elevated ALT; root causes of this disparity should be identified.

Pediatric Hepatitis C Quality Improvement Project Improves Healthcare Access.

OBJECTIVES: Incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasing in women of reproductive age, leading to increased prevalence of HCV infection in children via vertical transmission. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to increase referrals to and appointments scheduled with a specialty pediatric gastroenterology HCV clinic and the number of eligible children with HCV who completed treatment. METHODS: From July 2020 to August 2021, the QI team designed a project using the Model for Improvement and completed Plan Do Study Act cycles to test change ideas to improve HCV awareness and education for medical providers and families; standardize the referral process; track patients; increase clinic capacity; and connect families with community resource care coordination. Referrals to the pediatric HCV clinic, appointments scheduled, no shows, and treatment follow-up were tracked during the project period and a comparison timeframe from July 2019 to June 2020. RESULTS: There were improvements in several measures during the project period versus the comparison timeframe, with 80 versus 48 referrals received (66% increase), 115 versus 59 scheduled clinic visits (95% increase), and 7 versus 5 treatment completers (40% increase), along with a small (7%) decline in the proportion of scheduled clinic visits that were no shows. CONCLUSION: Application of QI methodology increased medical provider and caregiver awareness and engagement in accessing HCV healthcare available for at-risk children. More QI efforts should be accelerated to identify best practices amidst a nationwide HCV epidemic.

Individual differences in the effects of the ACTION-PAC intervention: an application of personalized medicine in the prevention and treatment of obesity.

There is an increased interest in the use of personalized medicine approaches in the prevention or treatment of obesity, however, few studies have used these approaches to identify individual differences in treatment effects. The current study demonstrates the use of the predicted individual treatment effects framework to test for individual differences in the effects of the ACTION-PAC intervention, which targeted the treatment and prevention of obesity in a high school setting. We show how methods for personalized medicine can be used to test for significant individual differences in responses to an intervention and we discuss the potential and limitations of these methods. In our example, 25% of students in the preventive intervention, were predicted to have their BMI z-score reduced by 0.39 or greater, while at other end of the spectrum, 25% were predicted to have their BMI z-score increased by 0.09 or more. In this paper, we demonstrate and discuss the process of using methods for personalized medicine with interventions targeting adiposity and discuss the lessons learned from this application. Ultimately, these methods have the potential to be useful for clinicians and clients in choosing between treatment options, however they are limited in their ability to help researchers understand the mechanisms underlying these predictions.

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for children age 6-24 months: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of effects on developmental outcomes and effect modifiers.

BACKGROUND: Small-quantity (SQ) lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) provide many nutrients needed for brain development. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to generate pooled estimates of the effect of SQ-LNSs on developmental outcomes (language, social-emotional, motor, and executive function), and to identify study-level and individual-level modifiers of these effects. METHODS: We conducted a 2-stage meta-analysis of individual participant data from 14 intervention against control group comparisons in 13 randomized trials of SQ-LNSs provided to children age 6-24 mo (total n = 30,024). RESULTS: In 11-13 intervention against control group comparisons (n = 23,588-24,561), SQ-LNSs increased mean language (mean difference: 0.07 SD; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.10 SD), social-emotional (0.08; 0.05, 0.11 SD), and motor scores (0.08; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.11 SD) and reduced the prevalence of children in the lowest decile of these scores by 16% (prevalence ratio: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.92), 19% (0.81; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.89), and 16% (0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.92), respectively. SQ-LNSs also increased the prevalence of children walking without support at 12 mo by 9% (1.09; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.14). Effects of SQ-LNSs on language, social-emotional, and motor outcomes were larger among study populations with a higher stunting burden (≥35%) (mean difference: 0.11-0.13 SD; 8-9 comparisons). At the individual level, greater effects of SQ-LNSs were found on language among children who were acutely malnourished (mean difference: 0.31) at baseline; on language (0.12), motor (0.11), and executive function (0.06) among children in households with lower socioeconomic status; and on motor development among later-born children (0.11), children of older mothers (0.10), and children of mothers with lower education (0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Child SQ-LNSs can be expected to result in modest developmental gains, which would be analogous to 1-1.5 IQ points on an IQ test, particularly in populations with a high child stunting burden. Certain groups of children who experience higher-risk environments have greater potential to benefit from SQ-LNSs in developmental outcomes.This trial was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO as CRD42020159971.

Nutrition Information Resources Used by People With Systemic Sclerosis and Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages: A Nominal Group Technique Study.

OBJECTIVE: Where people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) (or scleroderma) obtain diet and nutrition information to manage their disease is not known. Objectives were to identify 1) resources used by people with SSc for nutrition and diet information and 2) perceived advantages and disadvantages of resources. METHODS: We conducted nominal group technique (NGT) sessions in which people with SSc reported nutrition and diet information resources they have used and perceived advantages and disadvantages of accessing and using resources. Participants indicated whether they had tried each resource. They rated helpfulness and importance of possible advantages and disadvantages. Items elicited across sessions were merged to eliminate overlap. RESULTS: We conducted four NGT sessions (three English language, one French language; 15 total participants) and identified 33 unique information resources, 147 resource-specific advantages, and 118 resource-specific disadvantages. Resource categories included health care providers, alternative and complementary practitioners, websites and other media platforms, events, and print materials. The most common themes for advantages and disadvantages included quality and individualization of information and accessibility of resources in terms of cost, location, and comprehensibility. Information provided by medical professionals was regarded as most credible and can be obtained through books, articles, and websites if individual consultation is not easily accessible. Web-based information was considered highly accessible, although of variable credibility. In-person events may be an important source of health information for people with SSc. CONCLUSION: People with SSc obtain nutrition and diet information from multiple resources. They seek credible and accessible resources that provide SSc-specific and individualized information.

Formative Evaluation for Implementation of a Low Literacy Pictorial Asthma Action Plan Delivered via Telehealth Improves Asthma Control.

Consistently uncontrolled asthma in children is an increasing concern in the United States. The use of asthma action plans with asthma education is inconsistent and may be improved with adaptations for low literacy. The objective of this study was formative evaluation for implementation of the New Mexico Pictorial Asthma Action Plan (NM PicAAP). Quality improvement processes guided NM PicAAP face validation and telehealth direct patient care implementation. The asthma control test was selected to measure asthma control. NM PicAAP was revised for face validity, and training curriculum on its use and telehealth implementation processes were developed. Seven youth received NM PicAAP via telehealth direct care, which increased overall asthma control scores over 1 month. NM PicAAP may be useful and effective for improving asthma care in children via telehealth. Additional testing is needed to assess applicability.

Motivational Interviewing to Treat Adolescents With Obesity: A Meta-analysis.

CONTEXT: Successful treatment approaches are needed for obesity in adolescents. Motivational interviewing (MI), a counseling approach designed to enhance behavior change, shows promise in promoting healthy lifestyle changes. OBJECTIVE: Conduct a systematic review of MI for treating overweight and obesity in adolescents and meta-analysis of its effects on anthropometric and cardiometabolic outcomes. DATA SOURCES: We searched Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar from January 1997 to April 2018. STUDY SELECTION: Four authors reviewed titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. DATA EXTRACTION: Two authors abstracted data and assessed risk of bias and quality of evidence. RESULTS: Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria; 11 were included in the meta-analysis. There were nonsignificant effects on reducing BMI (mean difference [MD] -0.27; 95% confidence interval -0.98 to 0.44) and BMI percentile (MD -1.07; confidence interval -3.63 to 1.48) and no discernable effects on BMI z score, waist circumference, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, or fasting insulin. Optimal information size necessary for detecting statistically significant MDs was not met for any outcome. Qualitative synthesis suggests MI may improve health-related behaviors, especially when added to complementary interventions. LIMITATIONS: Small sample sizes, overall moderate risk of bias, and short follow-up periods. CONCLUSIONS: MI alone does not seem effective for treating overweight and obesity in adolescents, but sample size and study dose, delivery, and duration issues complicate interpretation of the results. Larger, longer duration studies may be needed to properly assess MI for weight management in adolescents.

Extending the Developmental Milestones Checklist for use in a different context in Sub-Saharan Africa.

AIM: Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate amount of global diseases related to neurodevelopmental delays in infancy, including malnutrition, malaria and HIV. Evaluating interventions to prevent such delays requires developmental assessment tools appropriate for Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to develop and evaluate such a tool. METHODS: The Developmental Milestones Checklist (DMC) was developed in Kenya to provide motor, language and personal-social scores for children aged from 3 to 24 months. We developed an extended version (DMC-II) in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and then evaluated the reliability and sensitivity of the scores to age and nutritional and environmental measures. RESULTS: The internal, interinterviewer and test-retest reliability of the DMC-II scores were >0.7. In 214 children aged 11.6-25.4 months, each score correlated with age (rs > 0.7). In 1123 children aged 16.8-19.9 months, the scores were sensitive to stunting, wasting and underweight (effect sizes 0.31-0.87 SD). The scores also showed expected correlations with measures of play materials in the home and activities with caregivers (rs = 0.13-0.41). CONCLUSION: The DMC-II is easily used by trained fieldworkers with no previous experience in developmental assessment. It is a practical, reliable and sensitive tool for evaluating motor, language and personal-social development in different contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa.