Completed PRISMA-P checklist.

Background

The last three decades have seen a growth in the number of children requiring long-term ventilation. Children with long-term ventilation present with underlying respiratory and neurological conditions that place them at risk of feeding and swallowing difficulties. To date, a scoping review or systematic review investigating the feeding and swallowing outcomes of children with long-term ventilation needs has not been conducted.

Aims

This paper describes a protocol for a scoping review of the feeding and swallowing outcomes of children receiving long-term ventilation.

Methods

This scoping review protocol will utilize the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology guideline. Our review will focus on the feeding and swallowing outcomes of children aged 0 to 18 years with long-term ventilation needs. A full search strategy initially created by the authors and a research librarian was conducted on the PubMed database. Following this, pilot testing took place to determine discrepancies in eligibility criteria. A full search strategy will be conducted across several databases. A data extraction form has been developed by the authors and will be used during the scoping review process.

Discussion

This protocol has been created to provide a rigorous and comprehensive basis for undertaking a scoping review. All necessary steps have been completed in order to commence the scoping review.

Registration

This scoping review protocol was registered on Open Science Framework on the 26^th November 2021 (Registration DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/NQBPD).