Ms Stephanie Wicks¹, Mrs Claire Toose¹, Ms Rhianydd  Thomas¹

¹The Children’s Hospital At Westmead, Sydney, Australia

Abstract:

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges to therapists providing scar management for children. The aim of this study was to evaluate virtual engagement of parents and health professionals accessing specialist scar management for children during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

An existing virtual service (email and telephone consultations) was formalised and expanded in response to COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions. Demographic and clinical details of individual contacts between May 2020 and March 2022 were recorded, including source of contact, contact type and frequency.

Results

Four hundred and fourteen individual contacts were recorded from parents (n=275 [67%]) and other health professionals (n=138 [33%]). Of parent contacts, 246 (89%) represented children within 24 months of burn injury (mean age 64 months [SD 55], mean TBSA 3% [SD 5]). The mean number of these contacts was 2 (SD 2, range 1-16) and the mean number of days to contact was 127 (SD 135, range 6-712). Parents who engaged with the virtual service, defined as 2 or more contacts, were significantly more likely to have attended at least one face-to-face visit at the burns unit (p = 0.018) and reside in a non metropolitan area (p = .003).

Conclusion

Virtual provision of care is a viable method of service delivery for management of post burn scarring where review in person is not possible. This early data may support expansion of virtual service beyond the pandemic response, to address the difficulties many burn patients experience in accessing specialised scar management.

Biography:

Stephanie Wicks is a Senior Burns Physiotherapist working for over 19 years in paediatrics. For the last 12 years she has worked for the NSW Paediatric Severe Burns Injury Service at CHW and was the first Australian Burn Therapist to be awarded certification by the American Burn Association in 2020.