Perspectives of Children, Parents, and Healthcare Providers on Outcomes after Anesthesia for Surgery: An International Mixed Methods Stakeholder Engagement Study from the Pediatric Perioperative Outcomes Group.

BACKGROUND

The authors' international collaboration of researchers and clinicians (the Pediatric Perioperative Outcomes Group) was established to develop core outcome sets for infants, children, and adolescents. Here, the authors report on a qualitative mixed methods study with semistructured interviews of parents/guardians and their children undergoing anesthesia for surgery along with perioperative healthcare providers ( e.g. , nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists).

METHODS

The authors compared and explored outcomes through a modified grounded theory analysis of interview transcripts to inform the establishment of an internationally recognized core outcome set for pediatric perioperative medicine. In total, 359 semistructured interviews were conducted between June 2021 and July 2022 across 10 study sites in eight countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, South Africa, Colombia, and China.

RESULTS

The authors identified the themes of pain, complications, mental health and emotional state, and environment to be important for all stakeholder groups engaged. Differences were observed between the themes for healthcare providers and patients and parent/guardians. Emotional well-being, pain, and return to daily life may be undervalued in current research outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The views elicited from these international stakeholder semistructured interviews complement the results of the outcome ratings surveys and provide a broad, objective, and foundational stakeholder perspective to support core outcome selection for pediatric perioperative research. These results may enhance relevance, inclusivity, and person-centeredness of the final outcomes measurement for pediatric perioperative care.