Can a simple phone call keep kids out of the hospital?

NCT ID NCT06428175

Disease control Sponsor: Duke University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This study tests two types of post-discharge support for children with special healthcare needs. One group gets a single follow-up phone call within 72 hours of leaving the hospital, while the other gets more ongoing support. Researchers want to see which approach reduces emergency visits and readmissions, and improves parents' confidence in caring for their child at home. About 480 families will take part.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: behavioral intervention (post-discharge phone calls and care coordination)
What this could lead to: If successful, this could show that a simple phone call after hospital discharge helps families manage their child's care at home and reduces return trips to the hospital.
What could go wrong: This is a behavioral study, not a drug or device, so the impact may be modest. Results depend on how well families engage with the calls, and the study is still recruiting.

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Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 480 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Aug 2025

Expected to finish

Feb 2029

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

Up to 18 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * For this study, eligible children/youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and adult parent/caregiver dyads will be those who meet the following inclusion criteria: 1. Child is a CYSHCN, defined as having seen two or more distinct specialty areas for outpatient visits during the 12 months prior to index hospitalization admission date 2. Age of hospitalized child is under 18 years old 3. Child hospitalized on a general pediatrics inpatient service line at participating site 4. Adult parent/caregiver for the child is 18 years or older Exclusion Criteria: * Child exclusion criteria: 1. Child will be discharged to any location besides home (e.g., long-term care or residential facility, skilled nursing facility, inpatient acute rehabilitation, psychiatric facility) 2. Child is a ward of the state or has an ongoing social services investigation 3. Child is already receiving transitional care, intensive longitudinal care coordination (e.g., organ/disease-specific clinical program, clinical division within the same institution as the hospital \[e.g., Children's Complex Care Program at UNC; Complex Care Service at Duke\]), and/or longitudinal population health care coordination as part of a bundled alternative payment care model. * Parent/caregiver exclusion criteria include: 1. Age less than 18 years old 2. Diminished capacity to provide consent/participate 3. Primary language for parent/caregiver is any language besides English or Spanish

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As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Comparative effectiveness Family engagement Health care Pediatrics Transitional care

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

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A doctor treating you

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Can a simple phone call keep kids out of the hospital?

What the study statuses mean