From cradle to adolescence: the development of Research in European Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) has been developing rapidly but heterogeneously in many European countries in recent years, and many national PEM societies have been founded to improve the quality of care of ill and injured children and adolescents. Key facets of any such improvement are the development, delivery and translation of high quality research. Research in European Pediatric Emergency Medicine (REPEM) has developed a robust international structure involving clinicians, academics and national PEM research networks. This structure facilitates research collaboration within Europe and with PEM research networks from other continents. Multi-centre research carried out in this way will bring about improvements in the quality of emergency care for children in European Emergency Departments, and result in a better quality of life for children and adolescents. This paper outlines the background and achievements of REPEM to date, and describes the current structure and next steps.