Grant: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Most children (85%) who need emergency care in Canada receive care in a general emergency department (ED) that cares for adults and children. Unfortunately, many of these EDs are not prepared to treat children due to a lack of exposure, equipment and skills. Research shows that this gap is substantial and results in low use of best practices and worse outcomes for children, including higher mortality and longer lengths of hospital stay. Pediatric readiness is an important measure of an EDs ability to care for children and a recent study conducted across Manitoba found low levels of readiness across facilities, scoring an average of 52 out of 100 and pointing to an urgent need for improvement. Implementation strategies are crucial for the use of research to improve health, healthcare delivery, and decision-making. However, there is little evidence to support which strategies work in the ED setting and with what effect. The overall goal of this post-doctoral fellowship project is to design and implement evidence-based strategies (e.g. customized report, pediatric resource toolkit, ongoing interaction and intensive training and education) using a randomized-control trial design to improve the pediatric readiness of Manitoba facilities. Using an integrated knowledge translation (KT) approach, this project will involve partnering with those who the research is most likely to impact to make sure the project is relevant and applicable in every day practice. Based on similar efforts in the United States, it is anticipated that this collaborative intervention will result in significant improvements in pediatric readiness, ultimately improving outcomes for children and healthcare systems. This project leverages existing KT networks housed in Manitoba (e.g. TREKK) to engage in effective partnerships with the broader health care community, advancing knowledge and innovation to promote excellence in child health research and care.