Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Involving Individuals with Developmental Language Disorder and Their Parents/Carers in Research Priority Setting
Published on: June 6, 2020
Priorities for improving paediatric diagnosis: findings from a modified Delphi study
Irit R Rasooly1,2, Katherine Wu3, Meghan Galligan4,2
1General Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA rasoolyi@chop.edu.
Insights
Experts identified key research and operational priorities to improve pediatric diagnosis. This consensus guides future efforts in enhancing diagnostic safety and quality for children in academic medical centers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare Research
- Diagnostic Quality Improvement
- Patient Safety in Pediatrics
Background:
- Lack of consensus on pediatric-specific diagnostic improvement priorities.
- Unique needs of children require tailored diagnostic strategies.
- Importance of addressing diagnostic errors in pediatric care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prioritize research and operational improvement areas for pediatric diagnostic excellence.
- To identify feasible strategies for enhancing diagnostic safety in children.
- To establish consensus among experts on critical areas for intervention.
Main Methods:
- Modified Delphi panel with 25 US experts (researchers, patient safety leaders, family partners) from 15 institutions.
- Literature review to generate initial topics, followed by expert panel discussions and surveys.
- Consensus achieved on topics rated as high priority (≥75%) and feasibility assessed for implementation.
Main Results:
- Consensus reached on 6 research priorities and 11 operational improvement priorities.
- Three research priorities identified: high-risk conditions, communication enhancement, feedback mechanisms.
- Three operational priorities identified: high-risk scenarios, case review, reporting missed opportunities.
Conclusions:
- Experts successfully prioritized feasible research and practice topics for pediatric diagnosis improvement.
- The findings provide a roadmap for enhancing diagnostic accuracy and safety in pediatric care.
- Prioritized areas focus on high-risk conditions, communication, feedback, and error analysis.
Background:
Efforts to improve diagnosis should reflect the unique needs of children; however, there is no consensus on paediatric-specific priority areas.
Methods:
An expert panel of 25 United States (US) paediatric diagnostic excellence researchers, patient safety leaders and family partners from 15 institutions participated in a modified Delphi panel. Panellists participated in generating a literature-derived list of topics relevant to improving diagnosis. Panellists then rated agreement on each topic as a research or operational improvement priority. Topics that achieved consensus (≥75% of panellists rating them as high priority) were subsequently rated based on feasibility for implementation at the respondent's institution.
Results:
Literature review identified 24 topics relevant to paediatric diagnostic safety and quality, which were expanded to 62 topics during the initial panel discussion and grouped into 25 survey topics. Consensus was reached on 6 topics as research priorities and 11 as operational improvement priorities. Of these, three were deemed highly feasible for research and three for operational improvement. Research priorities included: identifying paediatric conditions at high risk for diagnostic error, developing communication methods to enhance the diagnostic process and establishing diagnostic process feedback mechanisms. Operational improvement priorities included: identifying care delivery or health services scenarios at high risk for diagnostic error, establishing interdisciplinary, structured review of cases of diagnostic error and encouraging reporting of missed opportunities for improving diagnostic safety.
Conclusion:
Experts successfully prioritised important and feasible topics in research and practice for improving paediatric diagnosis in US academic medical centres.
More Related Videos
06:15Protocol and Guidelines for Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in Diagnosing Neonatal Pulmonary Diseases Based on International Expert Consensus
Published on: March 6, 2019
05:48The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
Related Concept Videos
01:23Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption
01:10Documentation of Nursing Diagnosis
In some settings, data-driven computerized decision support systems are in place, allowing for more accurate nursing diagnoses. The database within one of these systems includes diagnostic labels defining characteristics, activities, and indicators for nursing. A nurse enters assessment...
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion