562 - Association Between Remote Versus In-Person Discussion of Social Needs and Desired Resources Among Caregivers in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Monday, May 1, 2023

9:30 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Poster Number: 562
Publication Number: 562.412

Elizabeth Messineo, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Zoe Bouchelle, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Alder C. Strange, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Lauren VonHoltz, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Wallingford, PA, United States; Ashlee L. Murray, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Haddon Township, NJ, United States; Danielle Cullen, CHOP, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Elizabeth Messineo, BA (she/her/hers)

Medical Student
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends universal social needs assessment and resource provision in pediatric healthcare settings. While the COVID-19 pandemic has increased remote social needs assessment and resource provision, it remains unknown if mode of contact (in-person versus by telephone) impacts whether families express a desire for resources.

Objective: To determine the association between in-person versus telephone-based contact by a resource navigator and caregivers’ expressed desire for community-based resources in a Pediatric Emergency Department (PED).

Design/Methods: This retrospective observational study used data from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 from a single PED in a large, metropolitan, academic children’s hospital. Families were approached by student resource navigators and offered social resources either by phone or in-person during waiting periods in the PED exam room. Mode of contact was non-randomized and based on student preference.

We used descriptive statistics to summarize demographics and mode of contact and simple logistic regression to estimate the association between desire for resources and mode of contact. Multivariable logistic regression was used to control for the triage level, age, race, ethnicity, insurance status, neighborhood environment approximated by the Child Opportunity Index (COI), and month of contact.

Results: Contact was attempted among 4902 caregivers, with 2918 (59.5%) caregivers approached in-person, 1913 (39.0%) approached by phone, and 71 (1.5%) with no mode of contact recorded. Resource navigators successfully reached 2738 (93.8%) caregivers approached in-person and 1432 (74.9%) caregivers approached by phone. Of caregivers successfully reached, 782 (18.8%) desired resources; 526 (19.2%) in-person, and 256 (17.9%) by phone. Caregivers contacted by phone were no more or less likely to desire resources than caregivers contacted in-person in unadjusted analyses (OR=0.92, 95% CI=0.78-1.08, p</span>=0.295), and after adjusting for the aforementioned variables (OR=0.92, 95% CI=0.77-1.09, p=0.313).

Conclusion(s): Within a large, metropolitan PED, caregivers’ expressed desire for community-based resources was no different whether a caregiver was engaged in-person or by phone. This suggests caregivers may be equally receptive to community-based resources when delivered remotely versus in-person. Further steps include repeating this study with a larger sample size and a qualitative study of caregivers’ experiences of engaging with resource navigators in-person versus by phone.