The P-KIDs CARE Health Systems Intervention in Tanzania

Overview

The objective of the proposed research is to develop and pilot a locally-relevant, multicomponent intervention to streamline the triage process (e.g. patient assessment, stabilization, and disposition) for pediatric injury patients in Tanzania. This health systems intervention will work at the first level of medical contact (e.g., health center and district hospital), in order to facilitate timely disposition and referrals, and subsequently decrease time to definitive care. The proposed study has three aims: 1) With a mixed methods approach, describe the barriers to pediatric injury care at the first medical contact; 2) Iteratively develop the P-KIDs CARE intervention using a nominal group technique and conduct a pre-implementation assessment and refinement; 3) Pilot the P-KIDs CARE intervention and perform an implementation-focused formative evaluation. The proposed study focuses on pediatric injury patients and the family members and healthcare providers that care for them in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. The investigators will recruit pediatric injury patients, family members, and healthcare providers from 2 health facilities in the Kilimanjaro Region.

In Aim 1, the investigators will conduct formative research to inform development of the P-KIDs CARE intervention. The investigators will enroll 100 children into the pediatric injury registry and conduct capacity assessments of the two study facilities using the WHO Health Emergency Unit Assessment Tool. The investigators will conduct in-depth interviews (IDIs) with 15 family members of pediatric injury patients who were referred and made it to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), and 15 family members of pediatric injury patients who were referred but did not make it to KCMC. The investigators will conduct 2 focus group discussions (FGDs) with approximately 10-15 healthcare providers of pediatric injury patients at each of the 2 the study facilities. In Aim 2, the investigators will use this formative data to develop the P-KIDs CARE intervention during a 2-day intervention development workshop with an interdisciplinary study team. The investigators will then perform a pre-implementation assessment and refinement by convening focus group discussions with healthcare providers and a community-engaged panel. This step will enable us to obtain feedback and refine the intervention. In Aim 3, the investigators will pilot the intervention in 2 study facilities in the Kilimanjaro Region. The investigators anticipate 10 total healthcare providers will be enrolled across the 2 study facilities. The investigators expect to enroll approximately 200 pediatric injury patients, 100 in the pre-intervention period and 100 in the post-intervention period. The investigators will conduct post-surveys and exit interviews for healthcare providers using the intervention, assessing implementation outcomes including feasibility, healthcare provider acceptability, and fidelity. The investigators will also conduct interviews with family members of 12 patients referred to KCMC and 12 patients not referred, assessing acceptability and satisfaction with the disposition decision. The investigators will also collect patient-level, potential trial outcomes including time from first care to definitive care, disposition, morbidity, and mortality. The primary outcome will be mortality. The second outcomes will be time to definitive care, disposition, and morbidity. While not powered to determine effect size, the investigators hope that preliminary analysis will suggest a signal of difference between groups.