The Use of Patient-Reported Experience Measures for Children After Pediatric Surgical Procedures

• Main Author: Ferreira, Julia Loyola
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Decision making; Health care management; Information Technology; Patient safety; Patient satisfaction; Pediatrics; Smartphones; Social psychology; Social support
• ISBN: 9798380709859

Background:Patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are increasingly recognized as important healthcare quality indicators. PREMs measure patients’ perception of the care they have received, differing from satisfaction ratings, which measure their expectations. The use of PREMs in pediatric surgery is limited, prompting this systematic review to assess their characteristics and identify areas for improvement.Methods:A search was conducted in eight databases from inception until January 12, 2022, to identify PREMs used with pediatric surgical patients, with no language restrictions. We focused on studies of patient experience but also included studies that assessed satisfaction and sampled experience domains. The quality of the included studies was appraised using the Mixed Appraisal Tool.Results:Following title and abstract screening of 2,633 studies, 51 were included for full-text review, of which 22 were subsequently excluded because they measured only patient satisfaction rather than experience, and 14 were excluded for a range of other reasons. Out of the 15 included studies, questionnaires used in 12 studies were proxy-reported by parents and in 3 by both parents and children; none focused only on the child. Most instruments were developed in-house for each specific study, without patients' involvement in the process, and were not validated.Conclusions:Although PROMs are increasingly used in pediatric surgery, PREMs are not yet in use, being typically substituted by satisfaction surveys. Significant efforts are needed to develop and implement PREMs in pediatric surgical care in order to effectively capture children’s and families' voices.