Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the reach and implementation of an electronic psychosocial screening program among caregivers of pediatric oncology patients, as well as characterize caregiver distress.
Methods: Participants (N = 2,013) included caregivers of patients age 0-17.99 years presenting across 9,280 outpatient oncology visits (median = 2; range = 1-52) from September 2018 to June 2019. At check-ins, caregivers electronically completed the pediatric distress thermometer via a patient-facing electronic health record (EHR) application. Caregiver distress ratings ≥ 8 triggered electronic alerts to medical teams to refer for social work support at point of care. Patient clinical and demographic differences in reach and fidelity were evaluated using univariate chi-square and t-tests. Caregivers reporting high distress were compared with caregivers without reports of high distress using univariate and multivariable logistic regression.
Results: The e-screening program was able to reach a caregiver for nearly all children seen during the study period, with 95.5% (1,923/2,013) of patients having a caregiver-completed pediatric distress thermometer. On screeners where caregivers reported high distress, medical teams made appropriate referrals to social work 95.5% (471/493) of the time. Overall, 16.9% (325/1,923) of caregivers ever indicated high distress (score ≥ 8), with caregivers of newly diagnosed (odds ratio = 3.16; 95% CI, 2.12 to 4.71) and on-therapy (odds ratio = 2.81; 95% CI, 2.11 to 3.76) patients being more likely to report high distress, compared with those who were off-treatment for the entire study.
Conclusion: Leveraging EHR technology to provide evidence-based psychosocial screening can aid in successfully reaching a significant proportion of caregivers of pediatric oncology patients to identify and respond to ongoing psychosocial distress.