Paediatric Project ECHO® for Managing Pain in Children & Youth: Use of Simulation-Based Learning to Enhance Healthcare Providers’ Clinical Skills

Pain Management

The ECHO Education Event (E3) was held on February 6th and 7th, 2020 at the SickKids Peter Gilgan Centre of Research and Learning. Twenty-eight healthcare professionals (HCPs) from across Ontario attended at no-cost and to learn about managing pain in children and youth. We partnered with the SickKids simulation team to offer interactive training on: 1) pain assessment, 2) interdisciplinary care team planning, and 3) procedural pain.

Paediatric Project ECHO will be presenting a poster on the impact of the simulation-based learning at the Children’s Healthcare Canada (CHC) Virtual Conference. Full details below.

Background

Simulation-based learning mimics clinical practice, whilst providing a safe learning environment which is important for strengthening clinical skills. The ECHO Education Event incorporated simulation-based learning to enhance clinical skills of community HCPs. This study sought to evaluate the two-day ECHO E3 in terms of:

Acceptability and satisfaction;
Changes in healthcare provider knowledge and self-efficacy.

Methods

Simulations were co-facilitated by simulation educators, with patients and caregivers represented by actors and a high-fidelity infant mannequin. Attendees participated in 15-minute scenarios followed by a 45-minute structured debrief.
This prospective, mixed-methods study assessed performance-related outcomes. Surveys were administered in-person or via REDCap at baseline, immediately post-E3, and at 6-months. Surveys used 7-point Likert scales (quantitative data) and open-text fields (qualitative data). Follow-up surveys will be administered at 12-months. Additional qualitative data were collected post-E3 through an in-person focus group discussion.
This study was approved by the local Research Ethics Board.

Results

Conclusion

E3 participants report moderate-to-high acceptability and satisfaction with simulation-based learning.
Increases in knowledge and self-efficacy were observed post-E3 and at 6M.

Acknowledgements

Project funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health.
Thank you to all Paediatric Project ECHO® participants!

Authors:

Naiyi Sun^1,2, Jo-Ann Osei-Twum³, Chitra Lalloo^3,4, Jennifer Tyrrell^1,4, Giulia Mesaroli¹, Shirin Ataollahi-Eshqoor¹, Emily Louca⁵, Alison Dodds⁵, Annie Jiwan⁵, Jennifer Stinson^1,2,4

1. Department of Anaesthesia and Pain, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON; 2. Department of Anaesthesia, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON; 3. Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON; 4. Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, ON; 4. Lawrence S. Bloomberg, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, ON; 5. Learning Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON