Use of the interRAI PEDS HC in children receiving home care in Ontario, Canada

BackgroundThere is no standard assessment tool for pediatric home care recipients in Canada, limiting the availability of comparable, population-based data. The objective of this study was to describe pediatric home care recipients who were part of a pilot implementation of the interRAI Pediatric Home Care Assessment Form (PEDS-HC) among medically complex children referred to home care agencies in three regions in Ontario, Canada.MethodsAll 14 agencies providing home care to children in Ontario were invited to participate in the pilot project, and 9 participated in an education session. Three of these agencies used the PEDS-HC during the pilot implementation between February 2018 and March 2020. We used de-identified data to describe the demographics, home care needs, and diagnoses of pediatric home care recipients.ResultsThe sample of 474 assessments was predominantly male (60.34%), with an average age at assessment of 12.36 years (SD 4.56). Most (78.48%) reported English as their primary language. Most children assessed had between two and eight medical diagnoses. Diagnoses reported varied: gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, respiratory and neurological conditions were most common. The prevalence of urinary incontinence (40.1%) and bowel incontinence (70.9%) were high. Over 60% of children were rarely or only sometimes understood. A majority of children had adequate hearing (83.5%) and vision (68.6%). Extensive services were being provided in 10% of children assessed. Most children received care both at school and at home (70.89%), with 20.89% receiving home care only.ConclusionsThe PEDS-HC provides a detailed, standardised descriptive profile of medically complex children receiving home care. Expanding use of PEDS-HC would promote consistency in care planning and delivery on the patient level, enable cross-jurisdictional comparisons, and inform utilization tracking and health care funding decisions on the organization and provincial levels.