4 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a worldwide pandemic that has resulted in large-scale quarantines in cities, states, and countries throughout the world. SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus that is most commonly spread via contact with infective respiratory droplets and aerosols produced by coughing, sneezing, talking, and singing. Children with medical complexity (CMC), i.e., children with multiple severe chronic conditions, high resource use, severe functional limitations, and substantial family-identified service needs, are a medically vulnerable population for the development of severe COVID-19. Deciding to send CMC to school poses a major dilemma to families wanting to minimize severe COVID-19 risk. School personnel also face risks when CMC attend school. Despite these challenges, achieving in-person school attendance is critical for CMC. Compared to non-CMC, academic and social development for most CMC hinges on being at school. Severe intellectual and developmental disability impairs one's ability to engage with online platforms. Health-promoting services delivered at school, e.g., physical, occupational, and speech therapy, are likely less effective when delivered virtually. Parents of CMC, already disproportionately unemployed due to their child's care needs, experience added employment strain when their child is out of school. The study objective is to increase the safe return to school for CMC by 1) evaluating the feasibility of school-based COVID-19 testing strategies and 2) identifying parent and staff perceptions of testing and school attendance. A related study (ReSET Aim 1a, NCT04895085) will evaluate the same factors in home-based testing strategies in CMC exclusively.
The overarching objective of this study is to make it easier for parents of children with medical complexity (CMC) to take care of their children after discharge home from the hospital and reduce the chance of post-hospitalization morbidity (meaning bad outcomes such as readmissions) after discharge. CMC, or those with multiple chronic conditions, progressive conditions, or technology dependence, are at high risk for post-hospitalization morbidity.
This is a single-site, stratified grouping parallel- randomized control trial design comparing 30-day all-cause readmission rates and parent experience with two groups of pediatric participants.
The purpose of this research study is to learn about the factors parents consider when deciding whether their child will go to school in-person or attend from home. Investigators are also interested in learning whether access to in-home COVID testing is of value to parents and also whether it affects decision-making about returning to school. This study is being done at UW-Madison in partnership between the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. A total of 50 caregivers (plus their children with medical complexity) will participate in this study. Additionally, 20 caregivers involved in the study may also be invited to participate in a one-hour, virtual visit in which the caregiver demonstrates and discusses how they perform in-home COVID testing with their child. The results of the study may help researchers advance their understanding of in-home testing strategies for children with medical complexity.