Oregon

A Multi-State Evaluation of Emergency Department Pediatric Readiness: Guideline Update and Association with Quality, Outcomes, and Cost

Oregon Health and Science University

Principal Investigator: Craig D. Newgard, MD, MPH

The National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) launched in 2012 to ensure ideal pediatric emergency care by implementing standardized guidelines for EDs and measuring their improvement. However, the ability of EDs to adopt and implement these guidelines, the impact on health outcomes, and the associated costs have not yet been evaluated. To address this gap, the investigators will evaluate two multistate cohorts of children presenting to EDs combined with national survey data to evaluate the impact of ED Pediatric Readiness in 13 states (1,504 EDs) and (separately) trauma systems in 44 states (639 trauma centers). The project will focus on two high-risk subgroups within these cohorts that are likely to be particularly sensitive to ED readiness: seriously injured children (Injury Severity Score >= 16) and critically ill non-injured children.

Objectives

  1. Measure pediatric emergency care guideline uptake and the associated health outcomes of children over an 8-year period
  2. Assess the improvements in pediatric health outcomes that would result from children receiving emergency care at high-readiness EDs within 30 minutes from their homes
  3. Determine costs associated with various levels of readiness for both hospitals and patients

Health outcomes to be assessed include mortality, preventable complications, and costs for both patients and hospitals.

Published research