Health Care Providers' Perspectives on COVID-19 and Medical Neglect in Children with Life-Threatening Complex Chronic Conditions.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Cleveland, Ross W.; Deming, Rachel S.; Helton, Gabriel; Wilson, Celeste R.; Ullrich, Christina K.
- Source
- Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. Mar2022, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p193-199. 7p.
- Subject
- *COVID-19
*ATTITUDE (Psychology)
*CHRONIC diseases
*MEDICAL personnel
*MEDICAL care
*CATASTROPHIC illness
*QUALITATIVE research
*NEGLIGENCE
*HEALTH care teams
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*THEMATIC analysis
*SOCIAL distancing
- Language
- ISSN
- 1936-1521
Purpose: Little is known regarding medical neglect in children with Life-Threatening Complex Chronic Conditions (LT-CCCs). We examined the impact of COVID-19 on concern for medical neglect in this population. Methods: Qualitative interview study of multi-disciplinary health care providers (HCPs) from critical care, palliative care, and complex care services on the topic of medical neglect in children with LT-CCCs. We used inductive thematic analysis to generate themes. Findings presented herein are derived from a sub-analysis of the larger study that focused specifically on discussion of COVID-19 by HCPs. Results: 9 of the 20 HCPs interviewed mentioned COVID-19 as influencing situations of potential medical neglect. These 9 represent all disciplines and teams. Interviewees reported COVID-19 increased burden on parents and likelihood of medical neglect due to: 1) Familial distancing from medical and social support and, 2) Changes to medical care delivery that impaired the medical community's ability to engage and support families. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of the medical and social systems that supports families of children with LT-CCCs. These findings are consistent with previous literature that suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk for child maltreatment. It additionally highlights the vulnerability of this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]