Paediatric Readiness Assessment Tools in Emergency Care: A Scoping Review

This research project is a scoping review examining frameworks and tools used to assess paediatric readiness in hospital-based emergency departments. Children present unique physiological, developmental, and psychological needs that require specialised approaches to emergency care. Despite the high proportion of paediatric patients attending general emergency departments, there remains no universally accepted framework or standardised method to evaluate how prepared these departments are to deliver safe, high-quality care to children. The concept of paediatric readiness encompasses multiple dimensions, including staff training, availability of appropriate equipment, infrastructure, protocols, and systems of care. Understanding how readiness is measured is crucial for improving emergency care outcomes for paediatric populations. The primary purpose of this project is to identify, describe, and map the range of frameworks and tools currently used to assess paediatric readiness in hospital-based emergency departments. Specifically, the review will explore the components, domains, and indicators included in these frameworks, as well as the methods used to implement and evaluate them. By focusing on assessment tools and frameworks rather than general preparedness, this review aims to provide a clear overview of how paediatric readiness is operationalised in practice. The review will be conducted using a systematic scoping methodology following JBI guidelines and reported according to the PRISMA-ScR framework. A comprehensive search strategy will be implemented across multiple electronic databases, including CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library, as well as grey literature sources such as policy reports, guidelines, and institutional publications. Studies will be eligible for inclusion if they: 1. Described the development, structural architecture, adaptation, validation, or primary implementation of a paediatric emergency readiness assessment tool or framework; 2. Assessed paediatric readiness within hospital-based emergency departments, including ED-specific tools or hospital-level assessments with paediatric emergency care as the core component; Studies will be excluded if they: 1. Represented secondary analyses of previously published national readiness datasets without modification to tool architecture; 2. Focused solely on disaster planning, single-condition protocols, or non-ED settings; 3. Assessed general emergency department preparedness without paediatric-specific domains; 4. Used paediatric readiness scores as outcome measures, covariates, or descriptive metrics without evaluating the structure, architecture, or implementation of the readiness assessment tool itself. Data from included studies will be charted and analysed using a thematic approach, highlighting recurring domains, evaluation methods, and gaps in existing frameworks. The findings will be synthesised narratively and presented to illustrate the range and characteristics of paediatric readiness assessment tools. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive overview of current frameworks and tools, identification of common domains and indicators, and recognition of gaps or inconsistencies in the literature. This project will contribute to clarifying the concept of paediatric readiness, inform future research, and support efforts to standardise and improve emergency care for children in hospital-based settings.