DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF A HOME CARE TRACHEOTOMY MANUAL

As home care tracheotomy has become a viable option for children with long-term canulation, medical personnel are challenged to provide as s afe an environment as possible out of the hospital for these children. The tools used in the training of the families and other caregivers h ave received little attention in the literature. This study describes the development of a home-care tracheotomy manual for parents. The use of appropriate content presented in an organized, informative and ple asing fashion at the appropriate reading level is stressed. The evalua tion of the manual by parents with children who have a child with a tr acheotomy is also described.