Emotional Safety in Pediatrics: A Data-Informed Approach to Quality Care

Two organizations have implemented emotional safety initiatives within their existing safety and quality structures. While the safety world has historically focused on physical harm, the child life specialists helped drive change to expand their organizations' definitions to include emotional harm and create an all-inclusive culture of pediatric safety. While both initiatives utilize their existing quality and safety reporting systems, the approaches differ based on organizational structure, needs, and resources. Each unique approach is groundbreaking, innovative approaches to harm prevention.

The first organization developed an emotional harm severity scale which was incorporated into the existing safety event classification process. This involves an interdisciplinary team of pediatric clinicians and methodology experts who review events in a non-punitive manner. Discussions determine deviations, direct cause-and-effect relationship between the deviation and outcome, and level of physical harm.

This methodology was expanded to add classification of the emotional harm level, potential outcomes and how to manage harm. Three years of data has allowed this organization to strategically develop action plans to improve care by decreasing emotional harm.

The second organization included an emotional harm question into the existing safety event classification system. A weekly report is generated, and the events are categorized into what happened, what type of emotional harm did it cause, and dimensions of difference. The information gleaned informs the organization's emotional safety work, showing trends and areas of opportunity.

Speakers

Jenaya Gordon, MA, CCLS, NCC, Children's Hospital Colorado

Barbara Romito, MA, CCLS, The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Suggested Domain: Assessment
Credits: 1.0 PDU

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