Piloting a Novel Pediatric Emergency Care Capacity Self-Assessment Tool for Low and Middle-Income Country Settings

Globally, the majority of children who seek emergency care present to general emergency departments (EDs) rather than specialized pediatric EDs. Unfortunately, there remains significant variation in the provision of pediatric emergency medicine, particularly in resource-constrained settings. The project’s goal is to pilot a self-assessment tool to evaluate pediatric emergency care capacity in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) hospitals, then obtain feedback on the tool to improve future versions and scale to additional countries and contexts. To date, there is no validated assessment tool dedicated to the evaluation of pediatric emergency care in LMICs. Working alongside collaborators in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Washington DC, we developed the assessment tool by operationalizing existing standards and guidelines set forth by international and national organizations including the WHO, International Federation of Emergency Medicine, and American Academy of Pediatrics. The tool is currently being piloted at hospitals in different countries on the African continent, with goals to validate and scale the tool in the near future. After completing the tool, participating hospitals receive a written report with a description of its pediatric emergency care capacity, highlighting areas for improvement and suggested resources for pediatric emergency care.