TY - JOUR

T1 - “We can’t do without it”

T2 - Parent and call-handler experiences of video triage of children at a medical helpline

AU - Gren, Caroline

AU - Egerod, Ingrid

AU - Linderoth, Gitte

AU - Hasselager, Asbjørn Børch

AU - Frederiksen, Marianne Sjølin

AU - Folke, Fredrik

AU - Ersbøll, Annette Kjær

AU - Cortes, Dina

AU - Gamst-Jensen, Hejdi

N1 - Funding Information: The video triage studies were funded by the Danish foundation TrygFonden (ID 124362; awarded to ABH; www.tryghed.dk), the Research Foundation at Amager Hvidovre Hospital (no ID; awarded to CG; https://www.hvidovrehospital.dk/forskning/Sider/default.aspx) and the Research Foundation of the Capital Region (A6207; awarded to DC; https://www.regionh.dk/english/researchand-innovation/Pages/default.aspx). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: Copyright: © 2022 Gren et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Background Pediatric out-of-hours calls are common, as parents worry and seek reassurance and shared responsibility. Nevertheless, most children assessed in this context are not seriously ill. Conventional telephone triage lacks visual cues and is further limited by third part communication in calls concerning children. We investigated implementation of video triage in two previous studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate 1) How video triage versus telephone triage in children was experienced by parents and call-handlers, and 2) call-handlers’ evaluation of the video triage projects. Methods We triangulated data from surveys and interviews in five sub-studies. Sub-study 1: Parents’ experience of video triage reported in closed-ended questionnaire items using quantitative analysis; Sub-study 2: Parents’ experience of video triage reported as questionnaire free-text using qualitative content analysis; Sub-study 3: Call-handlers’ experience of video triage reported in closed-ended questionnaire items using quantitative analysis; and Sub-studies 4 and 5: Individual interviews of call-handlers’ experience of 1) video triage using thematic analysis and 2) the video triage project using process evaluation. Results Most parents’ comments regarding video triage were positive (n = 164, 83%). Video triage was perceived as reassuring and reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings and unnecessary hospital visits. Call-handlers experienced that video triage improved patient assessment and caller reassurance. Some call-handlers complained that the time allocated for study participation was inadequate and requested a more accessible video set-up. Both parents and call-handlers were significantly more satisfied and reassured after video triage than after telephone triage and suggested video triage as a permanent option. Conclusion Video triage was appreciated by parents and call-handlers and was recommended as a permanent option. The call-handlers suggested that designated time for participation in the studies would have been desirable in this busy call-center. We recommend video triage as a contemporary solution in out-of-hours service.

AB - Background Pediatric out-of-hours calls are common, as parents worry and seek reassurance and shared responsibility. Nevertheless, most children assessed in this context are not seriously ill. Conventional telephone triage lacks visual cues and is further limited by third part communication in calls concerning children. We investigated implementation of video triage in two previous studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate 1) How video triage versus telephone triage in children was experienced by parents and call-handlers, and 2) call-handlers’ evaluation of the video triage projects. Methods We triangulated data from surveys and interviews in five sub-studies. Sub-study 1: Parents’ experience of video triage reported in closed-ended questionnaire items using quantitative analysis; Sub-study 2: Parents’ experience of video triage reported as questionnaire free-text using qualitative content analysis; Sub-study 3: Call-handlers’ experience of video triage reported in closed-ended questionnaire items using quantitative analysis; and Sub-studies 4 and 5: Individual interviews of call-handlers’ experience of 1) video triage using thematic analysis and 2) the video triage project using process evaluation. Results Most parents’ comments regarding video triage were positive (n = 164, 83%). Video triage was perceived as reassuring and reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings and unnecessary hospital visits. Call-handlers experienced that video triage improved patient assessment and caller reassurance. Some call-handlers complained that the time allocated for study participation was inadequate and requested a more accessible video set-up. Both parents and call-handlers were significantly more satisfied and reassured after video triage than after telephone triage and suggested video triage as a permanent option. Conclusion Video triage was appreciated by parents and call-handlers and was recommended as a permanent option. The call-handlers suggested that designated time for participation in the studies would have been desirable in this busy call-center. We recommend video triage as a contemporary solution in out-of-hours service.

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0266007

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0266007

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35421109

AN - SCOPUS:85128310535

VL - 17

JO - PLoS ONE

JF - PLoS ONE

SN - 1932-6203

IS - 4

M1 - e0266007

ER -