TOP 52 - Clinician Perspectives on an Inpatient Communication-Focused Pediatric Family Navigation Program

Publication Number: 2804.TOP 52

Reilly Dever, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, WA, United States; Megan Phan, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Jocelyn Jimenez Romero, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Dean Karavite, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Tracy J. Yang, University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; Elena C. Griego, University of Washington & Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; Katherine Yun, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; K. Casey Lion, Seattle Children's / University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States

Background: Known inequities in hospital experiences and outcomes exist for families of color, those with language barriers, or those facing economic challenges. The Family Bridge Program (FBP) is an inpatient navigation intervention for publicly insured families of color who speak English, Spanish, Somali, or Vietnamese through which a family guide delivers communication coaching, psychosocial support, and resource navigation during pediatric hospitalizations. The hospital context has changed in the years since the program’s development and pilot testing, with substantively shorter lengths of stay and evolving interprofessional communication practices (e.g., messaging within electronic health records). Understanding clinicians’ views on how shifting workflows impact the effectiveness of and mechanisms through which inpatient navigation programs support teams and families will allow for successful program adaptation over time.

Objective: To understand how contextual factors shape the perceived benefit and mechanism of action of an inpatient equity-focused family navigation program, according to attending and resident physicians.

Design/Methods: We developed an interview guide and conducted semi-structured virtual interviews with physicians who cared for program-enrolled families between April and November 2025. The navigation program included hospitalized children under 18 on general pediatrics teams who were publicly insured, reported a race/ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white, and had a family language of English, Spanish, Somali, or Vietnamese. We included clinicians identified within 8 weeks of their FBP-enrolled patient’s admission. Clinicians were ineligible if they were unaware of the FBP during the admission, unable to recall the patient, or interviewed for another FBP case. Interview goals were to uncover clinicians’ views of contextual influences on the program, the mechanisms through which the program might work, general attitudes, and perceptions of program outcomes. Participants were compensated with $25. We transcribed audio with recording software (Zoom 2025) and reviewed transcripts for accuracy. We are refining a preliminary code template informed by prior provider findings from the FBP’s 2018 pilot study as we double-code interviews. We will conduct thematic analysis within a realist evaluation framework through an ongoing iterative process to achieve consensus on a final codebook. After final coding, we will generate memos and synthesize themes in regular team meetings to establish an updated context-mechanism-outcomes framework for this program by January 2026.