Heart Disease CongenitalNCT05926661
Support Tool for Families of High-Risk Children With Heart Disease During Hospital Admission and After Discharge
A study testing NCC Support Toolkit in people with Heart Disease Congenital, run by Nemours Children's Clinic at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this study is to pilot the "support tool" in the Nemours Cardiac Center to assess acceptability and feasibility. This tool will be offered to 5 high-risk families, and they will be asked to complete a survey. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Heart Disease Congenital
- What is being tested?
- NCC Support Toolkit
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 0 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 29 Nov 2023to 30 Apr 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Parents of a child with congenital heart disease and planned discharge from the Nemours Cardiac Center.
Who cannot join
- Non-English and Non-Spanish speaking families.
- The Healthcare providers group is pre-identified and they will be invited to provide feedback through semi-structured qualitative interviews only. They will not receive any intervention. Their participation will be voluntary.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Nemours Children's Hospital
Wilmington, Delaware, 19803
About this study
The goal of this study is to pilot the "support tool" in the Nemours Cardiac Center to assess acceptability and feasibility. This tool will be offered to 5 high-risk families, and they will be asked to complete a survey. In addition, healthcare providers including bed-side nurses and cardiologists will be asked to complete a survey to assess the feasibility of the tool.
Read the detailed description
Despite advances in the care of children with heart disease, those affected often remain in need of complex care after hospital discharge. Multiple medications, tube feeds, and medical equipment are a few of the care needs parents face upon leaving the hospital. Unsurprisingly, many parents report problems in the transition of care from the hospital to the home. Clinical providers express frustration related to challenges with family education and communication around the time of discharge. Research is required to identify intervention strategies to improve parent/ caregiver confidence with caring for their child after discharge and reduce unintended resource utilization after discharge including clinical deterioration, unplanned 30-day readmissions, emergency department (ED) visits and nonadherence to outpatient appointments.
In Aim 1 of the study, the investigators identified the modifiable barriers, perceived needs, and opportunities for intervention to support parents/ caregivers in meeting the care needs of the high-risk child with heart disease after discharge by conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with parents/ caregivers and healthcare personnel. And based on participants' responses, the investigators developed a support tool to improve parent/ caregiver comfort with caring for the high-risk child and improve post discharge outcomes. The objective of this study is to pilot this support tool in 5 high-risk families in Nemours Cardiac Center and assess the acceptability and feasibility based on their experience.
- Conditions
- Heart Disease Congenital
- Being tested
- NCC Support Toolkit
- Medical subject headings
- Heart Defects, Congenital
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
NCC Support ToolkitOther
Pre-discharge intervention-
- Set expectations for parents/caregivers to spend time bedside and attend rounds
- iPad for the families to use the Nemours App, download education materials and Facetime communication with medical personnel.
- Download Nemours App and teach them how to use it
- Education materials- to ease the use of medications, Oxygen and feeding
- Assistance with transportation, child care, parental work schedule for discharge teaching
Post Discharge intervention (Day 1-2):
- Video/Facetime call with the family to check equipment, home environment and answer questions about medications and formula
Post discharge intervention (Day 3-7):
- Phone call to the family to ensure transportation for their first follow-up appointment, answer questions about medications, Oxygen and feeding.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Parent/Caregiver of high-risk children with heart disease | Other | The parent/caregivers of high-risk children with heart disease coming to the Nemours Cardiac Center for care will be offered a "support tool" and will be asked for it's acceptance and feasibility through their experience. Receives: Other: NCC Support Toolkit |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Acceptability of support tool
By administering surveys to 5 families
Measured: 12 weeks
Feasibility of support tool
By administering surveys to the bed-side nurses and cardiologists.
Measured: 12 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 Jul 2023
- Study start29 Nov 2023
- Primary completion30 Apr 2024
- Study completion30 Apr 2024
Why it stopped: Per NIH guidelines study does not meet criteria for clinical trial
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (37)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Heart Disease CongenitalStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 0 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Nemours Children's Clinic
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Deepika Thacker, Nemours Children's Health System
- Investigators
- Deepika Thacker, MD, Principal investigator, Nemours Children's Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05926661
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Support Tools
- Other IDs
- U54GM104941-10
- Status last verified
- Sep 2025
- First submitted
- 30 May 2023
- Last updated
- 19 Sep 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Mahle WT, Spray TL, Wernovsky G, Gaynor JW, Clark BJ 3rd. Survival after reconstructive surgery for hypoplastic left heart syndrome: A 15-year experience from a single institution. Circulation. 2000 Nov 7;102(19 Suppl 3):III136-41. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.102.suppl_3.iii-136.
PubMed 11082376Jacobs JP, Quintessenza JA, Burke RP, Bleiweis MS, Byrne BJ, Ceithaml EL, Decampli WM, Giroud JM, Perryman RA, Rosenkranz ER, Wolff G, Posner V, Steverson S, Blanchard WB, Schiebler GL. Analysis of regional congenital cardiac surgical outcomes in Florida using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database. Cardiol Young. 2009 Aug;19(4):360-9. doi: 10.1017/S1047951109990151. Epub 2009 Jul 6.
PubMed 19575843Harlan GA, Nkoy FL, Srivastava R, Lattin G, Wolfe D, Mundorff MB, Colling D, Valdez A, Lange S, Atkinson SD, Cook LJ, Maloney CG. Improving transitions of care at hospital discharge--implications for pediatric hospitalists and primary care providers. J Healthc Qual. 2010 Sep-Oct;32(5):51-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1945-1474.2010.00105.x. Epub 2010 Jul 23.
PubMed 20854359Co JP, Ferris TG, Marino BL, Homer CJ, Perrin JM. Are hospital characteristics associated with parental views of pediatric inpatient care quality? Pediatrics. 2003 Feb;111(2):308-14. doi: 10.1542/peds.111.2.308.
PubMed 12563056Freed GL, Uren RL. Hospitalists in children's hospitals: What we know now and what we need to know. J Pediatr. 2006 Mar;148(3):296-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2005.12.048. No abstract available.
PubMed 16615954Connor JA, Kline NE, Mott S, Harris SK, Jenkins KJ. The meaning of cost for families of children with congenital heart disease. J Pediatr Health Care. 2010 Sep-Oct;24(5):318-25. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2009.09.002. Epub 2010 Jan 6.
PubMed 20804952Faraoni D, Nasr VG, DiNardo JA. Overall Hospital Cost Estimates in Children with Congenital Heart Disease: Analysis of the 2012 Kid's Inpatient Database. Pediatr Cardiol. 2016 Jan;37(1):37-43. doi: 10.1007/s00246-015-1235-0. Epub 2015 Jul 17.
PubMed 26184611Demianczyk AC, Behere SP, Thacker D, Noeder M, Delaplane EA, Pizarro C, Sood E. Social Risk Factors Impact Hospital Readmission and Outpatient Appointment Adherence for Children with Congenital Heart Disease. J Pediatr. 2019 Feb;205:35-40.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.09.038. Epub 2018 Oct 23.
PubMed 30366772Fixler DE, Pastor P, Sigman E, Eifler CW. Ethnicity and socioeconomic status: impact on the diagnosis of congenital heart disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1993 Jun;21(7):1722-6. doi: 10.1016/0735-1097(93)90393-f.
PubMed 8496543Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Ethen MK, Fixler DE, Dimaggio A, Canfield MA. Racial/Ethnic disparities in risk of early childhood mortality among children with congenital heart defects. Pediatrics. 2011 May;127(5):e1128-38. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-2702. Epub 2011 Apr 18.
PubMed 21502234DiMatteo MR, Haskard KB, Williams SL. Health beliefs, disease severity, and patient adherence: a meta-analysis. Med Care. 2007 Jun;45(6):521-8. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e318032937e.
PubMed 17515779Islam S, Yasui Y, Kaul P, Mackie AS. Hospital Readmission of Patients With Congenital Heart Disease in Canada. Can J Cardiol. 2016 Aug;32(8):987.e7-987.e14. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2015.12.018. Epub 2015 Dec 29.
PubMed 26968390Mackie AS, Ionescu-Ittu R, Pilote L, Rahme E, Marelli AJ. Hospital readmissions in children with congenital heart disease: a population-based study. Am Heart J. 2008 Mar;155(3):577-84. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2007.11.003.
PubMed 18294499Kogon B, Jain A, Oster M, Woodall K, Kanter K, Kirshbom P. Risk factors associated with readmission after pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 2012 Sep;94(3):865-73. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2012.04.025. Epub 2012 Jun 8.
PubMed 22682942Saharan S, Legg AT, Armsby LB, Zubair MM, Reed RD, Langley SM. Causes of readmission after operation for congenital heart disease. Ann Thorac Surg. 2014 Nov;98(5):1667-73. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2014.05.043. Epub 2014 Aug 15.
PubMed 25130076
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Sep 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Support Tool for Families of High-Risk Children With Heart Disease During Hospital Admission and After Discharge
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05926661
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Support Tools
- Conditions
- Heart Disease Congenital
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- WithdrawnReason stopped: Per NIH guidelines study does not meet criteria for clinical trial
- Enrolment
- 0 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Nemours Children's ClinicUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
- Study start
- 29 Nov 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Apr 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Apr 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 3 Jul 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this study is to pilot the "support tool" in the Nemours Cardiac Center to assess acceptability and feasibility. This tool will be offered to 5 high-risk families, and they will be asked to complete a survey. In addition, healthcare providers including bed-side nurses and cardiologists will be asked to complete a survey to assess the feasibility of the tool.
Detailed description
Despite advances in the care of children with heart disease, those affected often remain in need of complex care after hospital discharge. Multiple medications, tube feeds, and medical equipment are a few of the care needs parents face upon leaving the hospital. Unsurprisingly, many parents report problems in the transition of care from the hospital to the home. Clinical providers express frustration related to challenges with family education and communication around the time of discharge. Research is required to identify intervention strategies to improve parent/ caregiver confidence with caring for their child after discharge and reduce unintended resource utilization after discharge including clinical deterioration, unplanned 30-day readmissions, emergency department (ED) visits and nonadherence to outpatient appointments.
In Aim 1 of the study, the investigators identified the modifiable barriers, perceived needs, and opportunities for intervention to support parents/ caregivers in meeting the care needs of the high-risk child with heart disease after discharge by conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with parents/ caregivers and healthcare personnel. And based on participants' responses, the investigators developed a support tool to improve parent/ caregiver comfort with caring for the high-risk child and improve post discharge outcomes. The objective of this study is to pilot this support tool in 5 high-risk families in Nemours Cardiac Center and assess the acceptability and feasibility based on their experience.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Parent/Caregiver of high-risk children with heart disease | Other | Other: NCC Support ToolkitThe parent/caregivers of high-risk children with heart disease coming to the Nemours Cardiac Center for care will be offered a "support tool" and will be asked for it's acceptance and feasibility through their experience. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Parents of a child with congenital heart disease and planned discharge from the Nemours Cardiac Center.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Non-English and Non-Spanish speaking families.
- The Healthcare providers group is pre-identified and they will be invited to provide feedback through semi-structured qualitative interviews only. They will not receive any intervention. Their participation will be voluntary.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| NCC Support ToolkitPre-discharge intervention- * Set expectations for parents/caregivers to spend time bedside and attend rounds * iPad for the families to use the Nemours App, download education materials and Facetime communication with medical personnel. * Download Nemours App and teach them how to use it * Education materials- to ease the use of medications, Oxygen and feeding * Assistance with transportation, child care, parental work schedule for discharge teaching Post Discharge intervention (Day 1-2): • Video/Facetime call with the family to check equipment, home environment and answer questions about medications and formula Post discharge intervention (Day 3-7): • Phone call to the family to ensure transportation for their first follow-up appointment, answer questions about medications, Oxygen and feeding. | Other | Parent/Caregiver of high-risk children with heart disease |
Primary outcome
Acceptability of support tool
Time frame: 12 weeks
By administering surveys to 5 families
Feasibility of support tool
Time frame: 12 weeks
By administering surveys to the bed-side nurses and cardiologists.
Results and safety
The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 19 Sep 2025.
- Background: PubMed 11082376Mahle WT, Spray TL, Wernovsky G, Gaynor JW, Clark BJ 3rd. Survival after reconstructive surgery for hypoplastic left heart syndrome: A 15-year experience from a single institution. Circulation. 2000 Nov 7;102(19 Suppl 3):III136-41. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.102.suppl_3.iii-136.
- Background: PubMed 19575843Jacobs JP, Quintessenza JA, Burke RP, Bleiweis MS, Byrne BJ, Ceithaml EL, Decampli WM, Giroud JM, Perryman RA, Rosenkranz ER, Wolff G, Posner V, Steverson S, Blanchard WB, Schiebler GL. Analysis of regional congenital cardiac surgical outcomes in Florida using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database. Cardiol Young. 2009 Aug;19(4):360-9. doi: 10.1017/S1047951109990151. Epub 2009 Jul 6.
- Background: PubMed 20854359Harlan GA, Nkoy FL, Srivastava R, Lattin G, Wolfe D, Mundorff MB, Colling D, Valdez A, Lange S, Atkinson SD, Cook LJ, Maloney CG. Improving transitions of care at hospital discharge--implications for pediatric hospitalists and primary care providers. J Healthc Qual. 2010 Sep-Oct;32(5):51-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1945-1474.2010.00105.x. Epub 2010 Jul 23.
- Background: PubMed 12563056Co JP, Ferris TG, Marino BL, Homer CJ, Perrin JM. Are hospital characteristics associated with parental views of pediatric inpatient care quality? Pediatrics. 2003 Feb;111(2):308-14. doi: 10.1542/peds.111.2.308.
- Background: PubMed 16615954Freed GL, Uren RL. Hospitalists in children's hospitals: What we know now and what we need to know. J Pediatr. 2006 Mar;148(3):296-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2005.12.048. No abstract available.
- Background: PubMed 20804952Connor JA, Kline NE, Mott S, Harris SK, Jenkins KJ. The meaning of cost for families of children with congenital heart disease. J Pediatr Health Care. 2010 Sep-Oct;24(5):318-25. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2009.09.002. Epub 2010 Jan 6.
- Background: PubMed 26184611Faraoni D, Nasr VG, DiNardo JA. Overall Hospital Cost Estimates in Children with Congenital Heart Disease: Analysis of the 2012 Kid's Inpatient Database. Pediatr Cardiol. 2016 Jan;37(1):37-43. doi: 10.1007/s00246-015-1235-0. Epub 2015 Jul 17.
- Background: PubMed 30366772Demianczyk AC, Behere SP, Thacker D, Noeder M, Delaplane EA, Pizarro C, Sood E. Social Risk Factors Impact Hospital Readmission and Outpatient Appointment Adherence for Children with Congenital Heart Disease. J Pediatr. 2019 Feb;205:35-40.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.09.038. Epub 2018 Oct 23.
- Background: PubMed 8496543Fixler DE, Pastor P, Sigman E, Eifler CW. Ethnicity and socioeconomic status: impact on the diagnosis of congenital heart disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1993 Jun;21(7):1722-6. doi: 10.1016/0735-1097(93)90393-f.
- Background: PubMed 21502234Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Ethen MK, Fixler DE, Dimaggio A, Canfield MA. Racial/Ethnic disparities in risk of early childhood mortality among children with congenital heart defects. Pediatrics. 2011 May;127(5):e1128-38. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-2702. Epub 2011 Apr 18.
- Background: PubMed 17515779DiMatteo MR, Haskard KB, Williams SL. Health beliefs, disease severity, and patient adherence: a meta-analysis. Med Care. 2007 Jun;45(6):521-8. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e318032937e.
- Background: PubMed 26968390Islam S, Yasui Y, Kaul P, Mackie AS. Hospital Readmission of Patients With Congenital Heart Disease in Canada. Can J Cardiol. 2016 Aug;32(8):987.e7-987.e14. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2015.12.018. Epub 2015 Dec 29.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Deepika Thacker, MD principal investigator
Nemours Children's Hospital
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing NCC Support Toolkit in people with Heart Disease Congenital, run by Nemours Children's Clinic at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: withdrawn, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Acceptability of support tool (time frame: 12 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05926661, which also lists 37 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 19 Sep 2025.