The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with medical complexity.

BMC Pediatr

Division of Paediatric Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, University of TorontoThe Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.

Published: August 2022

Background: Descriptions of the COVID-19 pandemic's indirect consequences on children are emerging. We aimed to describe the impacts of the pandemic on children with medical complexity (CMC) and their families.

Methods: A one-time survey of Canadian paediatricians using the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) was conducted in Spring 2021.

Results: A total of 784 paediatricians responded to the survey, with 70% (n = 540) providing care to CMC. Sixty-seven (12.4%) reported an adverse health outcome due to a COVID-19 pandemic-related disruption in healthcare delivery. Disruption of the supply of medication and equipment was reported by 11.9% of respondents (n = 64). Respondents reported an interruption in family caregiving (47.5%, n = 252) and homecare delivery (40.8%, n = 218). Almost 47% of respondents (n = 253) observed a benefit to CMC due to COVID-19 related changes in healthcare delivery, including increased availability of virtual care and reduction in respiratory illness. Some (14.4%) reported that CMC were excluded from in-person learning when their peers without medical complexity were not.

Conclusion: Canadian paediatricians reported that CMC experienced adverse health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including disruptions to family caregiving and community supports. They also describe benefits related to the pandemic including the expansion of virtual care. These results highlight the need for healthcare, community and education policymakers to collaborate with families to optimize their health.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9398046PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12887-022-03549-yDOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

medical complexity
12
covid-19 pandemic
8
pandemic children
8
children medical
8
canadian paediatricians
8
adverse health
8
healthcare delivery
8
family caregiving
8
virtual care
8
reported cmc
8

Similar Publications

Confined cell migration along extracellular matrix space in vivo.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

January 2025

Center for Complexity and Biosystems, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.

Collective migration of cancer cells is often interpreted using concepts derived from the physics of active matter, but the experimental evidence is mostly restricted to observations made in vitro. Here, we study collective invasion of metastatic cancer cells injected into the mouse deep dermis using intravital multiphoton microscopy combined with a skin window technique and three-dimensional quantitative image analysis. We observe a multicellular but low-cohesive migration mode characterized by rotational patterns which self-organize into antiparallel persistent tracks with orientational nematic order.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Matrigel/BME, a basement membrane-like preparation, supports long-term growth of epithelial 3D organoids from adult stem cells [T. Sato , , 262-265 (2009); T. Sato , , 1762-1772 (2011)].

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study presents the construction of a comprehensive spatiotemporal atlas of white matter tracts in the fetal brain for every gestational week between 23 and 36 wk using diffusion MRI (dMRI). Our research leverages data collected from fetal MRI scans, capturing the dynamic changes in the brain's architecture and microstructure during this critical period. The atlas includes 60 distinct white matter tracts, including commissural, projection, and association fibers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cognition relies on transforming sensory inputs into a generalizable understanding of the world. Mirror neurons have been proposed to underlie this process, mapping visual representations of others' actions and sensations onto neurons that mediate our own, providing a conduit for understanding. However, this theory has limitations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neurotransmitter release is triggered in microseconds by Ca-binding to the Synaptotagmin-1 C-domains and by SNARE complexes that form four-helix bundles between synaptic vesicles and plasma membranes, but the coupling mechanism between Ca-sensing and membrane fusion is unknown. Release requires extension of SNARE helices into juxtamembrane linkers that precede transmembrane regions (linker zippering) and binding of the Synaptotagmin-1 CB domain to SNARE complexes through a "primary interface" comprising two regions (I and II). The Synaptotagmin-1 Ca-binding loops were believed to accelerate membrane fusion by inducing membrane curvature, perturbing lipid bilayers, or helping bridge the membranes, but SNARE complex binding through the primary interface orients the Ca-binding loops away from the fusion site, hindering these putative activities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!