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OBJECTIVE: To identify strategies associated with sustained guideline adherence and high-quality pediatric asthma care in community hospitals. DATA SOURCES: Primary qualitative data from clinicians in hospitals across the United States (collected December 2019-February 2021). STUDY DESIGN: Pathways for Improving Pediatric Asthma Care (PIPA) was a national quality improvement (QI) intervention. In a prior quantitative study, data from 23 community hospitals in PIPA were analyzed to identify sites with the highest and lowest performance in sustaining improvements for 2 years. In this qualitative study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with multidisciplinary clinicians from these hospitals to identify strategies associated with sustainability. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We purposefully sampled and interviewed participants involved in clinical care of children hospitalized with asthma at the identified hospitals (those with the highest/lowest sustainability performance). We transcribed and analyzed interview data using constant comparative methods. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Clinicians (n = 19) from five higher- and three lower-performing hospitals participated. In higher-performing hospitals, dedicated local champions more consistently provided reminders of evidence-based practices and delivered ongoing education. They also modified/developed electronic health record (EHR) tools (e.g., order sets with decision support). Higher-performing hospitals had a collaborative culture receptive to practice change and set firm expectations that evidence-based practices would be followed without exception. In lower-performing hospitals, participants described unique barriers, including delays in modifying the EHR and lack of automation of EHR tools (requiring clinicians to remember new EHR tasks without automated prompts). Barriers to sustainability for all hospitals included challenges with quality monitoring, decreasing focus of local champions over time, and ongoing difficulties developing consensus around evidence-based practices. CONCLUSIONS: To better ensure sustained high-quality care for children with asthma and greater returns on QI investments, QI leaders should prioritize: designating long-term local champions to continue reminders and educational efforts and developing electronic order sets to provide ongoing decision support.

The article focuses on the challenges of transitions between healthcare teams during pediatric hospitalizations, particularly for children with medical complexity (CMC) and those transferred from the PICU to the general floor. Topics include the risks of medical errors and family anxiety during transfers, the critical role of provider communication in preventing adverse events, and the need for improved handoff processes to enhance patient safety and satisfaction.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Quality improvement (QI) has the potential to reduce health disparities through multiple mechanisms, including by standardizing care and addressing social barriers to health. National organizations require that hospital systems integrate equity into quality efforts, but effective approaches remain unclear. We aimed to examine the association of hospital-based pediatric QI interventions and racial and ethnic, language, and socioeconomic disparities in health outcomes. METHODS: Quantitative studies from January 1, 2000 to December 11, 2023 reporting the effects of pediatric hospital-based QI were selected from PubMed and Embase. Studies were excluded if outcomes were not stratified by race and ethnicity, language, or socioeconomic status. Studies were reviewed in duplicate for inclusion and by 1 author for data extraction. RESULTS: A total of 22 studies were included. Most studies (n = 19, 86%) revealed preexisting disparities, and 68% of those (n = 13) found disparities reductions post-intervention. Studies with disparity-focused objectives or interventions more commonly found reduced disparities than studies of general QI (85% vs 33%). Hospital-based process standardization was associated with reduced disparities in provider practices. Most interventions associated with reduced disparities in patient-facing outcomes involved community/ambulatory partnership. Limitations included potential exclusion of relevant studies, topic heterogenity, and risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: Although the authors of few published hospital-based QI initiatives assessed their equity effect, intentionally designed QI studies were associated with reduced disparities. Interventions focused on care standardization may reduce disparities in care quality, although multilevel interventions are likely needed to affect the health care structures that influence more significant patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMost epidemiologic studies of puberty have only 1 source of pubertal development information (maternal, self or clinical). Interpretation of results across studies requires data on reliability and validity across sources.MethodsThe LEGACY Girls Study, a 5-site prospective study of girls aged 6 to 13 years (n = 1040) collected information on breast and pubic hair development from mothers (for all daughters) and daughters (if ≥10 years) according to Tanner stage (T1-5) drawings. At 2 LEGACY sites, girls (n = 282) were also examined in the clinic by trained professionals. We assessed agreement (κ) and validity (sensitivity and specificity) with the clinical assessment (gold standard) for both the mothers' and daughters' assessment in the subcohort of 282. In the entire cohort, we examined the agreement between mothers and daughters.ResultsCompared with clinical assessment, sensitivity of maternal assessment for breast development was 77.2 and specificity was 94.3. In girls aged ≥11 years, self-assessment had higher sensitivity and specificity than maternal report. Specificity for both mothers and self, but not sensitivity, was significantly lower for overweight girls. In the overall cohort, maternal and daughter agreement for breast development and pubic hair development (T2+ vs T1) were similar (0.66, [95% confidence interval 0.58-0.75] and 0.69 [95% confidence interval 0.61-0.77], respectively), but declined with age. Mothers were more likely to report a lower Tanner stage for both breast and pubic hair compared with self-assessments.ConclusionsThese differences in validity should be considered in studies measuring pubertal changes longitudinally when they do not have access to clinical assessments.