Apparent gap between levels of pediatric care in urban and rural areas

When it comes to providing healthcare for children across Canada, a team of researchers say there's an apparent gap between the levels of care received by children in urban and rural areas.

The group, which includes two scholars from the University of Alberta, says healthcare professionals who provide paediatric care at emergency rooms in community hospitals in rural areas across the country do not always have the information to provide the best paediatric care for children.

The National Centre of Excellence agrees and today announced a $2 million grant to fund Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids, or TREKK. U of A nursing assistant professor and project co-director Shannon Scott says they aim to close the knowledge gap with how healthcare professionals in rural hospitals diagnose, care for and treat children.

"Evidence shows that as many as 40 per cent of children cared for in emergency room departments do not receive treatment from the latest and best research available to treat and manage an illness such as a respiratory disease like croup. And up to 20 per cent of children in these community hospitals may receive treatment that provided no benefit to them," she said.