Mid-Atlantic Pediatric Long COVID Network:Implementing patient-centered and multi-disciplinary practices to improve pediatric long COVID - PROJECT SUMMARY Long COVID can affect many aspects of a child’s physical and mental health. Between 5 and 25% of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection go on to develop long COVID. Persistent health disparities and socioeconomic factors have put certain vulnerable populations at higher risk of infection, morbidity, and mortality from SARS- CoV-2 infection. In pediatrics, children with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities (IDDs), children from resource-limited areas (e.g., rural), and children that are uninsured or underinsured are particularly vulnerable populations that have limited access to specialized pediatric clinics for children with COVID-19 sequelae. Even with the successes of the Pediatric Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute to garner international recognition for its integrated and person-centered multidisciplinary clinic model and substantial research, awareness, and advocacy efforts of the clinical team, there remain critical gaps in long COVID care for children. These gaps include limited integrative healthcare treatments, resources for navigating schooling, and access to timely long COVID care in the community and medical home. There are two arms to this proposal to address these gaps in multi-faceted and independent ways. Arm 1 will involve using an innovative integrative health model of care to expand and strengthen the services of the KKI Pediatric Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic. This model can help support children with long lasting persistent or fluctuating symptoms, acknowledging the critical roles schools serve as an important partner in the cultural context of health and in the recovery process of pediatric patients. Arm 2 will involve the development of a novel Pediatric Long COVID Telementoring ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Project. The highly experienced clinical team will create provider education on long COVID in typically developing children (TDC) and children with IDD to educate and mentor multidisciplinary community providers through an 8-10 course series that will be adapted annually. In partnership with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, this proposal will achieve the following program objectives: (1) expand and strengthen the current clinic to utilize an innovative integrative healthcare model, (2) provide services to more children with long COVID, (3) expand services offered, (4) strengthen care coordination, (5) implement and share best practices for long COVID management, (6) support the primary care community in long COVID education and management through the Pediatric Long COVID ECHO project, (7) evaluate project success through mixed methods evaluations, and (8) disseminate project findings through community partners. In the end, with this proposal a network of community providers across Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region will be established that can treat pediatric long COVID early and effectively, providing greater access to care in vulnerable pediatric populations.
