COVID19

COVID19: Data and Evidence

RCPCH resources on the research and evidence around the impact of COVID19 on neonates, children and young people.

By meganpeng · April 15, 2020

The RCPCH has launched a designated research and surveillance hub to provide paediatricians, paediatric healthcare workers, providers and policy makers with up-to-date evidence about the impact of COVID-19 on neonates, children and young people.

The online area comprises:

  • Research Evidence Summaries

    • Working in partnership with a front-line team of paediatricians at Don’t Forget the Bubbles and NHS England, a rapid review protocol alongside recruitment of an expert review group has analysed over 4,500 research papers to date.
    • A summarised narrative of the research literature about paediatric COVID-19 is updated regularly with daily scans of the latest scientific literature.
    • The Don’t Forget the Bubbles website also holds a comprehensive list and accompanying summaries of each of the papers reviewed.

  • Data Collection

    • Guidance for healthcare professionals on how to accurately collect and record data on paediatric patients with s​uspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 using existing surveillance and data collection sources.
    • Details of the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit study on neonatal complications of COVID-19 including reporting instructions and the protocol card.
    • A collaboration with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in a project that aims to help clinicians identify clinical aspects of paediatric COVID-19 patients. Data is routinely captured through an NHS England service evaluation and audit according to an agreed data collection protocol established by its principal investigators. A visual representation of the data is then regularly updated and shared by RCPCH to support the care of children and young people in the fight against COVID-19.

  •  Reporting tools

    • A data collection platform for clinical leads to share information on the impact of COVID-19 on local child health services was released on April 17th, 2020.
    • The data capture system features an interactive dashboard for users to see weekly responses and overall national level results on data related to service capacity, staffing, personal protective equipment, testing availability and child health outcomes.
    • Data from this platform will be shared with paediatricians regularly to inform the planning of service provision over this critical period, and used as a tool to influence government and policy makers.