"Right Now, It's Kind of Haphazard"-Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators and Quality of Emergency Care for Children: A Qualitative Study

Objectives: Pediatric readiness varies widely among emergency departments (EDs). The presence of a pediatric emergency care coordinator (PECC) has been associated with improved pediatric readiness and decreased mortality, but adoption of PECCs has been limited. Our objective was to understand factors associated with PECC implementation in general EDs.

Methods: We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with a purposively sampled set of EDs with and without PECCs. Interviews were completed, transcribed, and coded until thematic saturation was reached. Themes were identified through a consensus process and mapped to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

Results: Twenty-four interviews were conducted and mapped to themes related to innovation, individuals and implementation process, outer setting (health system), and inner setting (hospital/ED). Addressing innovation, individuals, and implementation process, the primary theme was variability in how the PECC role was defined and who was responsible for implementing it. Regarding the outer setting, participants reported that limited system resources affected their ability to implement the PECC role. Key inner setting themes included concerns about limited visit volume, a lack of systems for measuring pediatric quality of care, and significant tension around change.

Conclusions: Implementation of the PECC role appears to be limited by heterogeneous interpretations of the PECC, de-prioritization of pediatrics, and limited system resources. However, many participants described motivation to improve pediatric care and implement the PECC role in context of increasing pediatric visits; they offered strategies for future implementation efforts.