1. The Acceptability and Efficacy of Electronic Data Collection in a Hospital Neurodevelopmental Clinic: Pilot Questionnaire Study
- Author
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Diana Barnett, Angela Papanicolaou, Yun Ju Christine Song, Jane Cramsie, Kelsie A. Boulton, Magdalen Rozsa, Suzi Drevensek, Beverley Bennett, Izabella Pokorski, Natalie Silove, Kalaichelvi Ganesalingam, Adam J. Guastella, Rebecca Sutherland, Shrujna Patel, Natalie Ong, Marcia Williamsz, and Marie Antoinette Redoblado-Hodge
- Subjects
hospital-based data collection ,medicine.medical_specialty ,020205 medical informatics ,Service delivery framework ,lcsh:Medicine ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Health Informatics ,02 engineering and technology ,Electronic mail ,Family centered care ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Original Paper ,Data collection ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,Child development ,Preference ,Computer Science Applications ,Family medicine ,Respondent ,family-centered care ,electronic data collection ,Electronic data ,business - Abstract
Background There is a growing need for cost-efficient and patient-centered approaches to support families in hospital- and community-based neurodevelopmental services. For such purposes, electronic data collection (EDC) may hold advantages over paper-based data collection. Such EDC approaches enable automated data collection for scoring and interpretation, saving time for clinicians and services and promoting more efficient service delivery. Objective This pilot study evaluated the efficacy of EDC for the Child Development Unit, a hospital-based diagnostic assessment clinic in the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. Caregiver response rates and preference for EDC or paper-based methods were evaluated as well as the moderating role of demographic characteristics such as age, level of education, and ethnic background. Methods Families were sent either a paper-based questionnaire via post or an electronic mail link for completion before attending their first on-site clinic appointment for assessment. A total of 62 families were provided a paper version of the questionnaire, while 184 families were provided the online version of the same questionnaire. Results Completion rates of the questionnaire before the first appointment were significantly higher for EDC (164/184, 89.1%) in comparison to paper-based methods (24/62, 39%; P Conclusions These results show that EDC is feasible in hospital-based clinics and has the potential to offer substantial benefits in terms of centralized data collation, time and cost savings, efficiency of service, and resource allocation. The results of this study therefore support the continued use of electronic methods to improve family-centered care in clinical practices.
- Published
- 2021