The aim of this study was to profile the information and readability of parent-focused resources to support care at home following a child’s discharge from a paediatric emergency department (ED). Analysis included recording the scope, source, readability scores and benchmarking the contents against previous recommendations for discharge information. Information from 46 resources (on 41 conditions) from three separate sources was analysed. Overall, a wide range of resources was available. Inconsistency was evident in the framework and design of resources available. Approximately two-thirds of resources provided information about referral to community resources, and most had links to community health providers. Assessment of readability levels showed a predominant pitch towards a relatively high level of schooling. Existing written resources available for parents to use in caring for their child following discharge from an ED could improve with more streamlined designs as well as consistent references to community resources and additional health providers. Parents with low reading capacity may not be able to make the most of existing resources to care for their child at home following ED discharge. This framework was developed for reviewing the resources that could be useful for quality assessment of other parent-focused discharge information.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.