Standards of care for pediatric clinical service delivery: A rapid scoping review

When pediatric services are not coordinated, children, youth, and their caregivers cannot always access the right services at the right time. Guidance is needed for how pediatric services should be planned and organized to improve integrated care. The objective of this rapid scoping review was to map and characterize current evidence on standards of care for integrated pediatric levels of service. This rapid scoping review was conducted in accordance with Cochrane Rapid Reviews Interim Guidance. We searched academic databases and gray literature in 2022, published in English from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, with no date parameter. Fifty-three sources met inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Levels of service frameworks categorized services into three, four, or six distinct levels. Eight sources described integrated levels of service. Most pediatric standards of care frameworks defined levels of service by roles and responsibilities. Differences were defined by transitions between levels of care, planning for services across urban and rural communities, and coordinating integrated levels of service. Future research is required to build evidence base of how levels of service frameworks can be used in practice, adapted to local contexts, and evaluated.