School of Rural Medicine
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Many children require urgent medical assessment for acute illnesses, but attending the emergency department can involve long waits and a stressful environment for families. The Paediatric Acute Review Clinic (PARC) at Coffs Harbour Health Campus offers a rapid specialist alternative to ED, providing timely care in a more appropriate outpatient setting. By evaluating PARC outcomes and family experiences, this study will provide valuable evidence to strengthen and improve innovative rural paediatric healthcare models.
The study will involve completing a short survey on your experience accessing the PARC and assessing how the implementation of the service has affected the peadiatric and emergency department. It aims to explore family perspectives on the clinic, including satisfaction with care, timeliness of assessment, communication with clinicians, perceived advantages compared with the emergency department, and any barriers to accessing the service. Findings from this research may be used to guide future improvements to PARC and support the development of effective rural paediatric models of care that reduce unnecessary ED presentations and hospital admissions.
Miss Shivanshu Garg Medical student, School of Rural Medicine, Charles Sturt University (CSU)
Dr M Mamun Huda Senior Lecturer in Medicine (Biostatistics and Public Health), School of Rural Medicine, CSU Primary contact - mhuda@csu.edu.au
Dr Michael McCarron VMO Paediatrician, PARC Adjunct Lecturer, School of Rural Medicine, CSU
Dr Stephanie White Head of Department – Paediatrics | Coffs Harbour Health Campus, PARC
Dr Catherine Keniry Associate Head of School, Research, Evaluation and Graduate Studies / Senior Lecturer / Senior Research Fellow in Medicine for Charles Sturt University School of Rural Medicine
Our aim is to evaluate hospital-related outcomes and family experiences associated with the Paediatric Acute Review Clinic (PARC) at Coffs Harbour Health Campus. This will help determine how effectively PARC provides a timely alternative to emergency department care and identify opportunities to improve paediatric services in rural and regional communities.
If you are a 18+ and parent or carer of a child who has accessed PARC
You will complete an online survey where you will be asked about your experience and satisfaction of PARC, including in comparison to the emergency department. This survey will take approximately 5 - 10 minutes and you will be given the option to provide further feedback at the end of the survey.
Please note that all information provided will remain confidential and no information that identifies yourself or the children will be included in the final publication of the data.
For more information and to continue with your interest in participating in this project, please download and read the participant information sheet. This will provide a link at the end for you to register your interest.
The information provided will remain confidential and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Please note we will not require any information that identifies your workplace.