Pediatric Continuity of Care

Currently, there is no patient centered pediatric discharge Transition of Care (TOC) plan on Tower 8. No educational materials are readily available on this topic either. This is problematic because an initial survey on Tower 8 indicated that many of the nurses at the bedside are uncomfortable educating pediatric transplant patients and their families.

The goal of our project is to implement an evidence based pamphlet highlighting important TOC topics specifically for pediatric transplant recipients. An initial survey was distributed to a multi-disciplinary group of nurses, nurse practitioners, transplant coordinators, and physicians to assess baseline knowledge pertaining to pediatric TOC. We worked closely with the pediatric nephrologists and outpatient RN coordinator to create an evidence based pamphlet addressing essential TOC topics. We reviewed literature from CINAHL, PUBMED, OVID, and COCHRANE databases. Articles from 2009-2013 were used in the literature review. Research indicates that pediatric transplant patients are a unique and vulnerable population with a high risk of life threatening complications. Addressing these potential issues through TOC education immediately after transplantation not only improves patient outcomes, but it also improves the quality of life for these pediatric patients and their families.

The results of our survey indicated limited knowledge regarding pediatric TOC among all practitioners. One hundred percent of practitioners believed additional teaching material are needed for pediatric transplant patients and their families, which is standardized and in low literacy format. The next step is to actually implement the evidence based pamphlet at the bedside. A post survey will then be distributed to the same sample of practitioners 6 months and 1 year post pamphlet implantation on Tower 8. We hypothesize this new educational tool will improve TOC knowledge for pediatric transplant recipients among all practitioners.