WIP 117 - Barriers to and Caregiver Perspectives of PICU-based Social Needs Assessment for Children with Asthma

Poster Number: WIP 117
Publication Number: WIP 117.2523

Background: Unmet social needs are associated with an increased risk of severe asthma in pediatric patients. Assessing and addressing unmet social needs among families of patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for asthma could help to mitigate future risk, but caregivers’ perceptions of social screeners and the prevalence of barriers to change remain largely unknown.

Objective: To assess caregiver perspectives on social needs screening and identify barriers to change for families of patients with severe asthma in the PICU.

Design/Methods: We conducted a qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews. Interviews were administered to a convenience sample of caregivers of pediatric patients with asthma admitted to the PICU in an urban tertiary-care children’s hospital between February of 2022 and June of 2023. The PICU social work team identified self-reported unmet needs using an institutional questionnaire addressing the following domains: household asthma triggers, asthma care at school, job training, public benefits, food, housing, and material goods. The research team contacted a convenience sample of caregivers with at least one unmet social need at the time of screening. Follow-up occurred between 2 and 12 weeks after the index PICU visit. The 15-minute telephone interview explored caregivers’ experience with the completion of the social needs questionnaire, as well as their experience accessing the resources provided. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. A thematic analysis of the written transcripts is ongoing and will be member-checked. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board.