• To learn about the non-urgent conditions commonly seen in the paediatric emergency departments (PED)
• To understand why parents of a child with a non-urgent condition may choose to present to the PED
• To appreciate the link between low parental health literacy and non-urgent presentations to the PED
It is estimated that between 58% and 82% of children and young people who present to paediatric emergency department (PEDs) have a non-urgent condition. This systematic review of the literature explores why parents of children with non-urgent conditions present to the PED rather than to community healthcare services. Five databases were searched for studies on children and young people’s presentations to the PED for the treatment of a non-urgent condition, as identified by a low priority triage code. This article describes and discusses the findings of the 18 included studies.
Emergency Nurse. doi: 10.7748/en.2023.e2154
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Pol A, Biagioli V, Adriani L et al (2023) Non-urgent presentations to the paediatric emergency department: a literature review. Emergency Nurse. doi: 10.7748/en.2023.e2154
AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Dr Massimiliano Raponi, medical director at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, Italy, for supporting this work within the Clinical-Technological Innovation Research Area, which he is in charge of. They also wish to thank Umberto Raucci, MD, PhD and Antonino Reale, MD, both at the Department of Emergency, Admissions and General Pediatrics at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, for their assistance in planning this work
Published online: 02 February 2023
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