Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 1, 2026
A Preterm Rat Model for Pain Studies
Published on: February 9, 2024
Acute pain research and marginalized children in the emergency setting: a scoping review
Elise Kammerer1, Samina Ali2, Calveen Basi3
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Background:
Pediatric pain is prevalent in emergency departments (EDs). Marginalized children are disproportionately affected by disparities in pain care.
Objectives:
This scoping review maps the extent and nature of the literature concerning the pain care of marginalized children in the ED.
Data Sources:
We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, iPortal, Native Health Database, and CENTRAL.
Study Eligibility Criteria:
Studies published between 2013 and 2025.
Participants And Interventions:
Children/youth with pain or undergoing painful procedures in US or Canadian EDs; populations defined by at least one PROGRESS-Plus factor, an internationally recognized framework to identify characteristics that may be associated with inequities in healthcare.
Study Appraisal And Synthesis Methods:
De-duplicated results from searching were screened in two stages by two reviewers in Covidence, with disagreements resolved through consensus, or a third reviewer. Data were charted using standard forms in Microsoft Excel. We extracted all PROGRESS-Plus criteria quantified in the studies.
Results:
From 3,056 identified records, we included 33 studies, all conducted in the US. Most (31/33) were retrospective studies. Child age was reported in all studies, race/ethnicity in 97% (32/33), and gender/sex in 94% (31/33). All studies concerned presenting pain; none explored procedural pain.
Limitations:
We only searched for literature conducted in Canada and the US and did not include studies documenting general care inequities.
Conclusions And Implications Of Key Findings:
Current research on marginalized children's pain in the ED is dominated by retrospective American studies using administrative data that focus on racial/ethnic disparities.
Scoping Review Registration Number:
10.1371/journal.pone.0296518.