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Characterizing rural families' experiences receiving pediatric surgical care: A qualitative study. J Rural Health 2023 Sep;39(4):833-843

Date

07/11/2023

Pubmed ID

37430387

DOI

10.1111/jrh.12777

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85164706018 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)

Abstract

PURPOSE: Access to pediatric surgical care is influenced by multiple factors, including proximity to care and financial resources. There is limited understanding regarding the process by which rural children acquire surgical care. We qualitatively explored rural families' experiences seeking surgical care for their children at a major children's hospital.

METHODS: Parents or legal guardians ≥18 years of age with children who received general surgical care at a major children's hospital and who lived in rural areas were included. Operative logs from 2020 to 2021 and postoperative clinic visits were used to identify families. Semi-structured interviews explored rural families' experiences receiving surgical care. Interviews were inductively and deductively analyzed to create codes and identify thematic domains. Twelve interviews (with 15 individuals) were conducted before thematic saturation was reached.

FINDINGS: Children were predominantly White (92%) and lived a median of 98.3 mi (interquartile range 49.4-147.0 mi) from the hospital. Four thematic domains were identified: (1) Accessing surgical care included difficulties with referral processes and travel/lodging burdens; (2) surgical care processes involved treatment details and provider/hospital expertise; (3) resources for navigating care encompassed families' employment status, financial burden, and technology use; and (4) social support included family situations, emotions and stress, and coping with diagnoses.

CONCLUSIONS: Rural families experienced difficulties with obtaining referrals, challenges with travel and employment, and the benefits of technology use. These findings can be applied to the development of tools that can ease challenges faced by rural families whose children require surgical care.

Author List

Georgeades C, Young SA, Nataliansyah MM, Van Arendonk KJ

Authors

Mochamad M. Nataliansyah MD, PhD Assistant Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Staci A. Young PhD Sr Associate Dean, Associate Director, Professor in the Family Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Child
Employment
Humans
Parents
Qualitative Research
Rural Population
Travel