Care Pathways
A Care Pathway is a standardized, multidisciplinary plan that outlines the steps and timeline for a patient's care journey, from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up. It helps ensure consistency. This will
Minimize practice variation and error
Improve patient outcomes by reducing the incidence of late or missed case identification
Minimize unnecessary hospital referrals, reducing travel time and costs for families
The Hippy Lab is working to create a variety of Care Pathways for pediatric hip conditions, tailored to the needs of specific regions around the world. Learn more about our care pathways below.
Canada Care Pathway
This project aims to create a standardized care pathway for early DDH identification and screening in children and youth across for the Canadian context while establishing a foundation for ongoing population and clinical-level health surveillance.
⚙️ Current Phase: The Delphi Process
In collaboration with a panel of experts, including orthopaedic surgeons, pediatricians, radiologists, midwives, family doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, and patient/parent advocates from across the country, we are now beginning the Delphi consensus-building process to solidify the guidelines. A maximum of 4 Delphi rounds to reach 80%+ consensus on 30-60 guidelines is currently in the works, projecting to be complete by mid-2025, allowing us to begin provincial implementation.
The Team:
Brazil Care Pathway
As of 2024, several key milestones have been achieved in the development of a standardized care pathway for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in Brazil:
⚙️ Current Phase: Panel Formation
✅ Scoping Review Completed: The foundational scoping review has been finalized and accepted by BMJ Open.
🌐 Survey Translation: Environmental scan surveys have been successfully translated into Portuguese and are ready for national dissemination.
🧠 Expert Panel Formation: Planning is underway to assemble a multidisciplinary expert consensus panel that will guide the next phase of pathway development.
These steps mark exciting progress toward improving early identification, screening, and care for children with DDH in Brazil.
The Team:
India Care Pathway
The India DDH Care Pathway marks a landmark achievement in global pediatric orthopaedics.
Led by GHDR member Dr. Alaric Aroojis in collaboration with the Vancouver GHDR team, this initiative developed the country’s first national care pathway for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH), alongside a care pathway for hip surveillance in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
⚙️ Current Phase: Panel Formation
Key highlights of this initiative include:
✅ Collaborative Leadership: Seven national organizations representing over 120,000 healthcare providers were engaged in a rigorous modified Delphi process.
🌟 A National First: This is the first time UNICEF India is working on a congenital condition, setting the stage for broader support of regionally built care pathways for hip conditions.
📊 Phase III Complete: The finalized Delphi process informed the creation of formal, evidence-based national screening guidelines tailored to India’s healthcare landscape.
The Team:
Sri Lanka Care Pathway
Sri Lanka is nearing completion of its first national care pathway for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH). In 2023/24, the expert consensus process concluded, and care guidelines are now being finalized with plans to begin implementation in 2025.
⚙️ Current Phase: Implementation
✅ National expert consensus reached through a modified Delphi process
📄 Care pathway guidelines in development; manuscript underway
🧾 New publication accepted by JAAOS Global
📊 Poster presented at COA 2024
🧾 Abstracts submitted to POSNA 2025 and EPOS 2025
🔁 Built through the “Pay It Forward” model with mentorship from GHDR leaders
