Paediatric intensive care survivorship

Overview

One in 500 children require admission to paediatric intensive care (PICU) for acute life-threatening illness or injury during their childhood1. There are an estimated 300,000 survivors of paediatric critical illness in Australia. Up to 30% of PICU survivors experience long-term impairments in physical, cognitive, emotional, and social health. This is termed Post Intensive Care Syndrome – Paediatrics, and significantly impacts child development, with a multiplier effect on the family and society. This is believed to be caused, in part, by the life-saving treatments provided in PICU. Most children admitted to PICU are less than 5 years old and therefore any personal and financial sequelae on child, family and society will persist for many decades to come. In particular, early childhood experiences can significantly affect learning trajectories. Despite this, there is no standardised, routine follow up of PICU children following discharge to monitor outcomes and improve the quality of care. Most children are discharged without any support systems or follow-up in place as most services have no or very limited capacity or knowledge of how to measure PICU long-term outcomes.

This program of research aims to:

1. Assess the impact and patterns of PICU survivorship

2. Develop and test an online screening questionnaire appropriate for use in PICU survivors and their families

3. Develop and test a GP shared care pathway for follow-up

4. Develop and test interventions which can improve PICU survivorship

5. Assess school readiness for PICU survivors

6. Examine social determinants of health

7. Develop novel prediction models

Keywords

• nursing
• paediatrics
• critical care
• outcomes
• recovery

Contact

Contact the supervisor for more information.