A pilot study of the effectiveness of home teleconsultations in paediatric palliative care

Summary We conducted a pilot study to investigate the effectiveness of a home telehealth service for paediatric palliative care consultations. Over a 10 week period, 14 of the 17 caregivers approached to be part of the study agreed to participate. Families were allocated, non-randomly, to a control...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of telemedicine and telecare 2012-12, Vol.18 (8), p.438-442
Main Authors: Bradford, Natalie, Young, Jeanine, Armfield, Nigel R, Bensink, Mark E, Pedersen, Lee-Anne, Herbert, Anthony, Smith, Anthony C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceptability
Adult
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Cohort Studies
Consultancy services
Feasibility
Female
Health Services Accessibility
Hospice care
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)
Paediatrics
Palliative care
Palliative Care - methods
Palliative Care - standards
Patient Satisfaction
Pediatrics - methods
Pediatrics - standards
Pilot Projects
Pilots
Prospective Studies
Quality of Life
Recruitment
Remote Consultation - utilization
Rural Population
Telecare
Telemedicine
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Summary:Summary We conducted a pilot study to investigate the effectiveness of a home telehealth service for paediatric palliative care consultations. Over a 10 week period, 14 of the 17 caregivers approached to be part of the study agreed to participate. Families were allocated, non-randomly, to a control group (usual care) or an intervention group (usual care with the addition of home telehealth consultations). The primary outcome measure was quality-of-life score. Caregivers were surveyed for up to 99 days following recruitment. A descriptive analysis of the quality-of-life data showed no differences between caregivers in the two groups. However, important lessons were learnt regarding factors which influence the success of studies in this population group, and the domains of caregiver quality-of-life that warrant intervention. Palliative care is complex, and multiple interventions and supports are required if care is to be managed at home. Home telehealth consultations are a feasible and acceptable means of facilitating a palliative care consultation which can reduce the burden on families at a distressing time.
ISSN:1357-633X
1758-1109
DOI:10.1258/jtt.2012.gth103