Grant: Prize - IHDCYH Talks

With more than 2.3 million visits annually in Canada, the emergency department care of children results in considerable costs for families, healthcare systems and society. Many visits are for minor conditions that could be more aptly treated in other settings or at home. In fact, 1 in 5 of the children who visit the ED but are not admitted to hospital, did not need to visit the ED. Ensuring that the best available research informs parents' decisions of when to seek health care can reduce healthcare use and high rates of hospitalization. Characterized by vomiting, diarrhea, tummy pain and fever, acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is an important, potentially preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in young children. Annual Canadian estimates for children less than 5 years with gastroenteritis point to 200,000 emergency visits, 20,000 hospital admissions and approximately 30 deaths a year. In addition to the obvious impact that AGE has on children, families and health care systems, there is considerable practice variation thereby compounding the impact of this common childhood condition. Through our previous research we have demonstrated the need for innovative, research-informed, knowledge tools for parents. Through connecting with over 1000 Canadian parents, we learned that parents urgently wanted more information about their child's illness, the treatments that will be given to their children and how they would care for their child after they leave the ED. This whiteboard video that merges the best available research evidence with the power of art and families' stories has the potential to yield large dividends for Canadian families with a child with vomiting and diarrhea through optimized health services utilization while simultaneously informing and empowering parents.