Prevention of Hospital-Acquired Infections Among Pediatric Patients: A Scoping Review Protocol.

Background/Objectives: Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAI) represent one of the most frequent adverse events during care delivery, with the pediatric population (0-18 years) presenting unique vulnerabilities due to their developing immune systems, dependence on caregivers, and need for invasive devices. Despite the availability of general guidelines, existing high-level evidence is largely extrapolated from adult studies, and pediatric settings differ significantly in patient physiology and equipment size. This scoping review aims to map the key concepts, types of evidence, and research gaps related to strategies preventing HAI in pediatric patients. Methods: This scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework will be utilized. We will include any strategy, intervention, or protocol aimed at preventing HAI. A comprehensive search will be conducted across ten major electronic databases and grey literature sources. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full texts, followed by data extraction using a standardized tool to categorize the interventions and key findings. Results: The findings will synthesize diverse practices into a usable format for clinical decision-makers and identify gaps where primary pediatric research is lacking. This consolidated data aims to guide resource allocation and assist hospital infection control committees in updating pediatric safety protocols. Conclusions: This scoping review will establish a comprehensive baseline of pediatric-specific HAI prevention strategies. The findings will inform evidence-based practice, identify critical research gaps, and guide future investigations in the prevention of pediatric infections in healthcare settings.