VALUE US Study
What is the VALUE US Study?
The VALUE US Study is a research study which has been submitted for funding and is currently awaiting the outcome. It was developed with the aim of improving the care for children & young people (CYP) with complex care needs, and their families, during emergency department visits and/or overnight hospital stays.
The full study title is:
A realist interVention development And feasibiLity stUdy to improvE care for children with complex care needs in the acUte hospital Setting: The VALUE US Study
How will the study help?
Children with complex care needs may have lots of hospital stays and remain in hospital for long periods of time. We know that during their stay they may experience errors in care and problems due to communication. Therefore, children with complex care needs do not always have the best outcomes or experiences of hospital stays.
This study will look at current research to find out what the key aspects of good care are, for CYP with complex care needs and their families. Working together with CYP and their families, we will use this information to design some strategies to improve the care for children with complex care needs in the emergency department and inpatient wards. We will then test these strategies to see if it is possible to put them into action and test them. We will also check if any changes are needed to make them work better.
What are the next steps?
We are waiting to find out if the VALUE US Study will be funded.
We are keen to make sure that the voices of all families are heard. We especially want to hear from families from diverse ethnic backgrounds, as their voices have not been well represented so far.
If you are a child/young person with complex care needs, or their parent/carer, and are from a minority ethnic background, we would love to hear your views. We will talk to you in a way that is best for you. This could be a focus group or one-to-one discussion, and either online or in person. We can provide interpreters for those who are not fluent in English. Please get in touch if you are interested, using the contact details below.
What things are important to you during emergency department visits and overnight hospital admissions?
What outcomes are important to you? These are the things that will let us know if the project has worked or not. For example, measuring your quality of life or wellbeing.
How we should carry out the research? For example, how should we inform families about the study and how should we ask them to take part?
How should we keep families informed of the study progress?
Over the past year, we have spoken to over 30 families of children with complex care needs. These families were from across England and shared their experiences of hospital care for their child with complex care needs. They said that this research was important to them. It was important to include these families’ voices so that the research plan matches what they need and includes their ideas about how to make sure that families take part.
Emma Popejoy
Tel: 07812 268 686
