• Matthew Yeung, Tanya Spence, Dejana Nikitovic, and Eli Gilad.
• From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2025 Jan 1; 41 (1): 506250-62.

ContextFamily-centered care is a critical component of critical care interfacility and medical retrieval transport (MRT) services. These services provide a critical bridge for a physiologically and psychologically unique population often best served in specialized, tertiary centers. Caregivers often wish to accompany patients during MRT. However, there is currently little research on the impact of caregiver accompaniment on MRT.ObjectiveThe aim of the study is to determine: 1) What are caregiver attitudes to accompanied and unaccompanied MRT? 2) What are healthcare provider attitudes to caregiver presence? 3) What are patient attitudes to caregiver presence? and 4) Are there differences in patient outcome depending on caregiver presence?Data SourcesData sources are MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL.Study SelectionStudies with a focus on patient, caregiver, or family-oriented care practices in MRT. Reviewed articles were not restricted unless they discussed neonatal transport, palliative transport, were non-English, or were conference proceedings.Data ExtractionWe screened 1373 articles, with 45 full-text articles reviewed. After removal of duplicates and abstract-only results, 25 articles remained. Three additional articles were found in references of reviewed articles.ResultsArticles generally supported caregiver presence on MRT, with caregivers and providers in agreement. However, for many services, space was a limiting factor controlling when caregivers could travel.LimitationsThere is a paucity of literature on this topic, and studies were entirely from English-speaking countries.ConclusionsCaregivers and healthcare providers largely prefer caregiver accompaniment on MRT services. There is little data on patient perspectives and transport-related adverse events affecting patient outcomes.Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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