Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Health inequities are widespread and associated with avoidable poor health outcomes. In the PICU, we are increasingly understanding how health inequities relate to critical illness and health outcomes. Experts recommend assessing for health inequities by screening for social determinants of health (SDOH) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); however, guidance on screening is limited and screening has not been universally implemented. Our study aimed to understand parent perspectives on screening for SDOH/ACEs in the PICU, with the primary objective of determining whether screening would be acceptable in this setting. ⋯ Participants found screening for SDOH/ACES to be acceptable and valuable in the PICU. Families have important insight that should be leveraged to improve the support of unmet needs through the development of strengths-based, parent-informed screening initiatives.
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Recently, we took care of a teenage boy in our PICU who had been struggling with a lifelong chronic illness and accompanied him and his parents during the last few days of his life. We had the privilege of getting to know him and his parents quite well during the last few years, as he required hospitalization several times during this time. We saw how extremely dedicated his parents had been to him and his care, how they left no stone unturned and sacrificed everything they could to help him have the best quality of life possible. ⋯ I also missed when his funeral took place. I wanted to reach out to his parents, to express how much his life and their love for him had meant to me, too, and to find some closure. So I wrote this short poem for them, and for all the other parents, who have to go through the most difficult time a parent can ever go through-as a pediatric intensivist, a Mom who has never been where they had to go, a fellow human being, and a grieving friend.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Oct 2024
Letter Case ReportsDexmedetomidine Withdrawal Syndrome in the PICU.