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More Research Needed on Pediatric Home Health Care

January 28, 2025
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Many of my patients who have chronic medical conditions receive home health care (HHC), meaning that they have medical supplies or equipment at home, and/or they have a nurse or medical aide at least some of the time at home.

Dr. Carolyn Foster and colleagues from Northwestern University, Harvard Medical School, University of Colorado, Johns Hopkins University, University of Wisconsin, the University of Chicago, Bluebird Consulting, and MTM-CNM Family Connection are authors of an article released in Pediatrics, entitled “Home Healthcare Research for Children with Disability and Medical Complexity” (10.1542/peds.2024-067966).

The authors note that, even though approximately 5% of children discharged from US hospitals receive HHC, there is very little research conducted in the HHC setting. In this article, they review the history of HHC and where peer-reviewed research exists. Much of the current literature discusses financial coverage gaps for HHC, care fragmentation, and the negative results of these deficiencies in care, including harmful impacts on families’ physical, mental, social, and financial health.

The authors propose a research agenda focused on interventions to improve HHC and thus improve outcomes for children and their families. One of the first steps for which they advocate is a research consortium and comprehensive database that can support this research.

I was frankly surprised at the lack of research that had been done in this area. Rigorous research results in improved care and outcomes in general, and the many children who receive HHC deserve to benefit from this type of research.

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