ABSTRACT: Parental presence at the bedside (PPB) of critically ill children in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is necessary for operationalizing family-centred care. Previous evidence syntheses emphasize parent-healthcare provider interactions at rounds and resuscitation; our focus is the parent-child dyad. Prior to embarking on further study, we performed a scoping review to determine the breadth and scope of the literature addressing PPB of critically ill children in the PICU. We searched five online databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and PSYCHINFO) and the grey literature to identify English and French reports from January 1960 to June 2020 addressing physical parental presence with children (birth to 18 years) in intensive care units, without limitation by methodology. Screening, reference selection, and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. Data were extracted into a researcher-designed tool. We identified 204 publications (81 quantitative, 68 qualitative, 22 mixed methods, and 9 descriptive case or practice change studies, and a further 24 non-study reports). PPB was directly assessed in 78 (38%) reports, and was the primary objective in 64 (31%). Amount or quality of presence was addressed by 114 reports, barriers and enablers by 152 sources, and impacts and outcomes by 134 sources. While only 6 reports were published in the first two decades of our search (1960-1980), 17 reports were published in 2019 alone. Conclusions: A relatively large body of literature exists addressing PPB of critically ill children. Separate systematic evidence syntheses to assess each element of PPB are warranted. Scoping review protocol registration: Open science framework, protocol nx6v3, registered 9-September-2019. What is Known: • Parental presence at the bedside of critically ill children must be enabled to facilitate family centeredness in care. • Systematic evidence syntheses have focused on parental presence at rounds or resuscitation, rather than with the child throughout the intensive care journey. What is New: • Many reports (n=204) address parental presence at the bedside in the pediatric intensive care unit, though most do as incidental findings • Identifies studies addressing key elements of parental presence in the PICU including barriers and enablers to, amount and quality of, and impact and outcomes of parental presence, and demonstrates trends over time and geography.
