Author(s)
Margaret Mills, MD
Kathryn Bentivegna, BS, MPH
Julie Veilleux, RN
Debra Hallbach, RN
Scott Schoem, MD, MBA, FAAP
Affiliation(s)
Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, UConn Health; University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT; Department of Otolaryngology, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Abstract:
Introduction: Pre-operative COVID-19 testing in pediatric otolaryngology patients is an essential hospital safety measure to protect the health of patients and healthcare workers. Given the high proportion of asymptomatic COVID-19 infections and frequently aerosolizing nature of otolaryngology procedures, testing is indicated even in the absence of symptoms. No study has directly assessed caregiver perceptions of COVID-19 testing for their child. Our primary objective of this study is to assess how caregivers perceive COVID-19 testing for their children, including beliefs and sources of information prior to testing, preparation for testing, and perceptions after testing.
Methods: A cross-sectional, randomized survey study was performed from November 2021 to February 2022 in the surgical pre-operative setting within an urban tertiary care children’s hospital. Eligible participants included English and Spanish-speaking adult caregivers with a child between the ages of 0-17 years who underwent mandatory pre-operative COVID-19 testing.
Results: In total, 150 of 164 eligible participants were included in the analysis (91% response rate). Average age of participant was 39.27 years, with a majority female (62.8%), white race (68.9%) as well as Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (18.9%). Concerns raised by caregivers regarding testing included pain to the child (n=38), as well as the test being unnecessary, traumatizing, and uncomfortable with long waiting times and drive-through format. Regarding ways to ease comfort, areas of improvement include parents identified depth of swab insertion and rough nature of testing.
Discussion: The subjectively unpleasant physical experience associated with COVID-19 testing can be considered particularly challenging for children compared to adults. Healthcare related exposures influence the patient and family experience and may negatively influence health seeking behaviors. Our results indicate that there is room for improvement regarding counseling and performing COVID-19 testing including (1) easing associated discomfort with efficient clinic flow and patient distraction and (2) emphasize testing procedure for accuracy of testing.