Parent education programs for children assisted by invasive mechanical ventilation: A scoping review

Problem: The population of children assisted by invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and living at home is growing. Although parent education is essential for safe transitions from hospital-to-home, little is known about how this education is delivered. The aim of this review is to identify existing literature about parent education programs, synthesize the evidence, and identify gaps in the literature for future inquiry.

Eligibility criteria: This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Full-text publications in the English language focused on describing parent education programs for children assisted by IMV, indexed in CINAHL, PubMed, OVID, and PsycINFO and published from 2010 to 2021 were included. Reference lists of relevant articles were reviewed, and a hand search was completed to locate any additional literature outside the original search.

Sample: A total of 2472 citations were identified. After screening titles and abstracts, 37 full-text articles were retrieved and assessed for eligibility. Two independent reviewers completed the screening process. A hand search located one additional article. A final sample of 18 articles were included in the review.

Results: The parent education programs described in the final sample included standardized discharge education programs, simulation training, resourcefulness training, patient-specific action plans, disaster preparedness, and symptom and technology management.

Conclusion: Although most parent education programs identified in this review focused on teaching caregiver skills, program characteristics and outcome measures varied widely.

Implications: This review recommends directions for future research to optimize parent education for children assisted by IMV.