Envisioning post pandemic digital social-medical aftercare for very preterm-born infants and severely ill children– Opportunities and challenges

Social-medical aftercare (SMN) is a service in Germany for very preterm-born infants and severely ill children to facilitate transition from hospital to home. A multi-disciplinary team supports the families to coordinate therapies and follow-up care with the goal to shorten hospital stay and ensure success of treatment amongst others. Video consultations (VC) could help overcome challenges in structurally weak regions, complex illnesses and language barriers. To assess feasibility of this method and satisfaction of families, standardized interviews were conducted after VC and home visits. A standardized interview with 21 questions using a 7-point-Likert-scale was applied to evaluate feasibility and parent satisfaction of SMN via VC. A total of 138 interviews were conducted and compared (99 after VC and 39 after in-person consultations). There were no significant differences found between the VC and in-person home visit groups in terms of confidentiality, feasibility, and discussion of private and sensitive information. Parents' acceptance and positive evaluations of the confidentiality of VC offers the possibility of using them beyond the pandemic. However, home visits were preferred. Nevertheless, VC can expand the possibilities of SMN and can be a cost- and time-effective tool to reach out to families and their children who require support.