Evaluation of Continuity of Care of Children With Special Health Needs

IRCCS Burlo Garofolo

Status: Completed

Conditions: Children With Special Health Needs

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05803291

RC 17/16

Details and patient eligibility

About

Children and adolescents with special health care needs represent a small but relevant subset of the pediatric population due to high costs for the health care system, risk of lower quality of care, unmet health care needs, and negative health outcomes. Coordination of care and continuity of care are essential issues of appropriate care for these patients, as showed also by the "Special Needs Kids" project, carried out in Emilia Romagna. This project showed the potential for family pediatricians (FP) in Italy to serve as care coordinators and facilitate the implementation of integrated care pathways for children with special health care needs. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG), a system of "continuity of care" for patients with special needs was developed and implemented. This system integrate hospital and community care in a network involving also FPs, General Practitioner and different actors of social and health services. The aim of this study is to prospectively evaluate the continuity of care provided to children and adolescents with special health needs residing in the FVG region.

Enrollment: 51 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 1 day to 17 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Subjects with special health care needs requiring continuity of care and integrated home care
• Age between 0 to 17 years
• Residence in FVG region
• Outpatient, inpatient or emergency care admission at the IRCCS Burlo Garofolo hospital, Trieste, Italy

Exclusion criteria