THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE NEWLY DIAGNOSED PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY CAREGIVER

Effective discharge teaching for caregivers of newly diagnosed pediatric oncology patients can reduce unplanned medical utilization, health care costs, and incidence of relapse and treatment complications. Challenges to providing effective instruction for this population include reduced initial hospitalization time, caregiver receptiveness, and consistency of content. While there is little evidence-based best practice for related educational methodology, video delivery of patient education is increasingly popular. Two videos, linked to QR codes, were developed to accompany the standard discharge teaching tools for pediatric oncology patients. Intervention effectiveness was evaluated in three areas, each at a different timepoint: caregiver feedback, skill acquisition, and decision-making. Caregiver feedback, evaluated through QDTS scores, rated the quality of discharge teaching favorably (mean 8.46, SD 1.58). Following the education and hospital discharge, all caregivers demonstrated us of the appropriate skills/behaviors to be ready for the first outpatient clinic visit as assessed by the clinic readiness tool. The 30-day post-discharge survey revealed that all caregivers experienced an unexpected medical concern at home. Appropriate medical utilization decision making (emergency department, triage, clinic) was engaged to resolve the concerns. Further, high use of the QR codes outside of the hospital setting (52 times outside the initial teaching, with 37 from unique IP addresses) indicates the videos were referenced or shared with others who needed education to help care for the child. This is particularly noteworthy given post-pandemic visitor restrictions which hinders normal education pathways for extended caregivers. Overall results were positive, and further exploration of this innovative educational strategy is warranted.